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HISTO0RY
OF THE
COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM
OF THE
STATE OF NEW YORK,
FROM ITS ORIGIN IN 1795, TO THE PRESENT TIME.
INCLUDING
THE VARIOUS CITY AND OTHER SPECIAL ORGANIZATIONS, AND THE RELIGIOUS CONTROVERSIES
OF 1821, 1832, AND 1840.
By S. S. RANDALL
FORMERLY GENERAL DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT OF COMMON SCHOOLS, AND LATE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
1871.
IVISON, BLAKEMAN, TAYLOR  &  CO.,
NEW YORK AND CHICAGO.




Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy, by
IVISON, BLAKEMAN, TAYLOR & CO.,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
BJLKBR & GODWIN, PRINTERS,
Printing-House Square, New York.




o  fhe'3Mermovr
OF
DE WITT CLINTON,
70 WHOSE EARLY' AND PERSEVERING EFFORTS, AND TRANSCENDENT
S TA TESMA NSHIP, 0 UR
SYSTEM OF PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION
WAS SO GREA TL Y INDEBTED FOR ITS ORIGIA A ND PERMANENT
ES TA BLISHMENT,
THIS WORK IS REVERENTLY INSCRIBED.








INTRODUCTION.
HAVING been intimately connected with the COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM of
the State of New York, for a period of over thirty years, and having, during
nearly one-half of that time, occupied an important official position in the
department specially charged with its supervision and administrationthereby enjoying not only all needful facilities for obtaining an accurate
knowledge of its history  and  constitution, but also  an intimate and
familiar acquaintance with many of its most distinguished executive officers,
counselors, and supporters throughout all its most important stages-I
have felt it an obligation specially incumbent upon me, in my retirement
from public duties, to avail myself of these facilities, by the preparation of
the work now submitted to the public approbation. I need not say that it
has been a labor of love; associated as it has been with the fondest and most
cherished recollections of half a life-time, and with the memory of those
eminent men, many of whom have departed from among us, who were chiefly
instrumental in laying the broad foundations, and erecting the noble superstructure of our great system of PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.
It has been my aim  to trace this system  from  its earliest inception,
through all its struggles and vicissitudes, its varying phases and steady
advancement, to its present vast proportions and extended scope. In doing
so, I have deemed it not only important, but interesting and attractive, to
give free extracts from the official language of those from time to time connected with its administration, and from the arguments and illustrations of
its prominent advocates and distinguished champions in legislative halls, in
public conventions, and in the discharge of subordinate functions associated
with its interests and welfare. The utterances of statesmen, philanthropists,
legislators, and practical administrators, in reference to the great fundamental principles of popular education, the foundations upon which they rest,
their intrinsic value and necessity, their vital relation to public and national
5




vi                        INTRODUCTION.
prosperity, and even to the existence of republican government, their intimate identification with social order and private and individual happiness,
their inseparable connection with religion and morality, their influence and
power in promoting and extending science and art in all their various
manifestations, and thereby contributing to the advancement of the highest
civilization, and their invariable tendency to lessen crime and avert indigence and poverty, while, at the same time, they immeasurably increase the
productive industry of the community-these expositions seemed to me of
such abiding interest and value to all men, as to justify their reclamation
from the neglected and forgotten repositories of official documents, and their
perpetuation in a more accessible, if not more enduring form.
The progress of the system, too, from the first rude attempt to gather
together a few destitute and indigent children for the simplest elementary
instruction, through several successive but abortive efforts to effect an organization by means of a scanty appropriation of public funds; the great
and general awakening of the public mind by the marvelous development
of the LAxCASTERIAN method of instruction, first practised in the schools of
the Public School Society in the City of New York, and afterward widely
diffused, through the enthusiastic advocacy of DE WITT CLINTON; the consequent reorganization of the system under the auspices of its first Superintendent, GIDEON HAWLEY-still lingering among us, a venerable and
esteemed relic of a past age; the grand conception of the DISTRICT LIBRARY
system under the supervision of Gen. JoHN A. DIX; the system of COUNTY
SUPERVISION, inaugurated by JOHN C. SPENCER, with the efficient co-operation of the late lamented ALONZO POTTER; the establishment and organization of NORMAL SCHOOLS for the education and proper preparation of
teachers, through the exertions of SAMUEL YOUNG, CALVIN T. HULBURD and
Dr. POTTER; and the long struggle and final triumph of the FREE SCHOOL
SYSTEM, through the combined influence of the leading friends of education
throughout the State-all these successive landmarks in the onward march
of advancement, illustrated by the wisdom, the eloquence, and the exalted
statesmanship of the master-minds of each period-will be found to possess
a deep interest for those who, in our own times, have entered into their




INTRODUCTION.                             vii
labors, and are reaping the rich fruits of their prescience and moral and
intellectual greatness. Nor will the agitating discussions which marked the
excited periods of Sectarian Controversy, and definitively settled the boundaries of State and Church education, be without their attractions to those
who can now regard the important questions involved, free from  those
asperities which unavoidably attended their original promulgation.  The
rise, progress, and final consolidation of the noble system of public instruction in the City of New York, will also arrest the attention and interest of
those in whose midst it has so successfully culminated.
It is hoped, too, that the concluding section in which an attempt has
been made to review some of the leading principles of a sound educational
system, and to offer such practical suggestions as long experience and much
observation have served to approve, may not be wholly without benefit at a
period when, in every portion of our great Republic, institutions based upon
the pervading idea of free and universal education are springing up. To an
enlightened public, fully awake to the vital importance of a subject closely
identified with individual, social, and general happiness and prosperity, the
entire work is respectfully commended.
S. S. RANDALL.








TABLE OF CONTENTS.
DEDICATION.......   iii
INTRODUCTION.....       
FIRST PERIOD.-CONSTRUCTION.
Condition of Education in the Dutch and English Colonies.Foundation of the Common School System.-Gov. George Clinton.
-Act of 1795.-Govs. Jay, Lewis and Tompkins.-The New York
Free School Society.-De Witt Clinton.-Lancasterian System  of
Instruction.-Jedediah Peck.-Reorganization of the System 18121814...........   1-23
SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.
SECTION. — ADMINISTRATION OF GIDEON HAWLEY, SUPERINTENDENT OF
COMMON SCHOOLS, 1813 TO 1821.
Annual Reports.-Lancasterian System of Instruction.-Revision
of the School Laws.-Progress of the System.-Removal of Mr.
Hawley. —His Character.-Transfer of the Duties of the Office to
that of Secretary of State........ 24-37
SECTION II. - ADMINISTRATION OF SECRETARY JOHN VAN NESS YATES,
1821 TO 1826.
Constitutional Provision of a Permanent Common School Fund.
-Progress of the System.-School Celebrations.-New York Free
School Society.-Controversy with the Religious Societies.-Decision
of the Common Council....... 38-49
9




X                            CONTENTS.
SECTION III.-ADMINISTRATION OE' SECRETARY AZARIAH C. FLAGG,
1826 TO 1833.
Views and Recommendations of Governor Clinton.-Seminary
for Education of Teachers.-School Visitors.-County Supervision.
-Mr. Spencer's Report- Academical Education. -Text-Books.School Libraries.-Progress of the System.-Increase of the Fund.
-Public School Society of the City of New York.-Abandonment
of Lancasterian System.-Death and Character of De Witt Clinton.Infant and Primary Schools.-Second Religious Controversy..   ~ 50-77
SECTION IV.-ADMINISTRATION OF SECRETARY JOHN A. Dix,
1833 TO 1839.
Messages of Gov. Marcy.-Superintendent's Reports.-Academical Preparation of Teachers.-Text-Books.- District Libraries.James Wadsworth of Geneseo.-Augmentation of Common School
Fund.-Proposed Department of Public Instruction.-U. S. Deposit
Fund.- Condition of the Schools. - Children in Manufactories.Moral and Religious Instruction.-The Bible and New Testament.Common School Decisions and Laws...... 78-96
THIRD PERIOD. —ADVANCEIE NT.
SECTION I.-ADMINISTRATION OF SECRETARY JOHN C. SPENCER,
1839 TO 1842,
Character of the Secretary.-Messages of Gov. Seward.-County
Visitors.-Education of Children of Foreigners.-The Schools.Common School Fund.-Free Schools.-District Libraries.-Academical Departments for Teachers.-County Superintendents.-District
School Journal.-Schools in Cities and villages.... 97-118




CONTENTS.                             xi
SECTION II.-THE RELIGIOUS CONTROVERSY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK,
1840 TO 1842.
Application of Catholic Free Schools to the Common Council.Remonstrance of Public School Society.- Decision of Common
Council. - Application to the Legislature. - Report of Secretary
Spencer.-Reply of Commissioners of School Money. —Message of
Gov. Seward.-Report of Acting Superintendent.-Establishment and
Organization of the Ward School System.-Sectarian Teaching.Christian Scriptures.........                       119-138
SECTION III.-ADMINISTRATION OF SECRETARY SAMUEL YOUNG,
1842 TO 1846.
Character of Col. Young.-Convention of County Superintendents.-State Normal School.-Teachers' Institutes.-Academical
Departments for Teachers.-Messages of Govs. Bouck and Wright.
-Mr. Hulburd's Report.-County Supervision.-Superintendents'
Reports.-Condition of the Schools.-Official Correspondence.The Bible in Schools..... 139-197
FOURTH PERIOD. THE FREE SCHOOL
CAMPAIGN.
SECTION I.-ADMINISTRATION OF SECRETARY NATHANIEL S. BENTON,
1845 TO 1848.
State Convention of County Superintendents at Syracuse.The Bible in the Public Schools.-Free Schools.-Col. Young.Rev. Dr. Alonzo Potter.-State Convention of Teachers.-Francis
Dwight.-Condition of the Schools.-Superintendents' Reports.Convention of County Superintendents at Albany. — Speech of
Horace Mann.-The Free School Campaign.-State Constitutional
Convention. - Abolition of office of County Superintendent.Teachers' Institutes.-State Normal School.-Death of Principal
Page.-New York Free Academy....... 198-245




xi]L:.-)!TTENTS.
SECTION II.-ADMINISTRATION OF SECRETARY CHRISTOPHER MORGAN,
1848 TO 1851.
Free School Campaign.-Message of Gov. Fish.-Superintendent's Reports. - Colored Schools. - Indian Children. - District
Libraries.-Act for Establishment of Free Schools.-Adoption by
the People.-Petitions for Repeal.-Legislative Discussions.-Free
School Convention at Syracuse.-Re-submission to the People.Re-affirmance of the Principle.-Compromise Act of 1851.-Prominent Advocates of Free Schools.-Sectarian  Schools.-City and
Village Schools.-Report of Code Commissioner.....246-298
SECTION III.-ADMINISTRATION OF SECRETARY HENRY S. RANDALL,
1852 TO 1854.
Character of the Secretary.-Annual Reports.-Free Schools.District Libraries.-Academical Departments for Teachers.-New
York Free Academy.-Teachers of Common Schools.-Teachers'
Institutes.-Messages of Gov. Hunt.-Religious Instruction in Common Schools.-Decision in the Quigley Case.-Election of Secretary Leavenworth.-Separation of Superintendent's Department
from Secretary's Office.-Dissolution of Public School Society of
New York.-Ward School System.-Public Schools of Buffalo,
Rochester, Hudson, Poughkeepsie, Schenectady, Albany, Brooklyn,
Oswego, Auburn, Syracuse, Utica, and Troy.... 299-322




CONTENTS.                           xiii
FIFTH PERIOD. - STATE TAXATION AND
RATE BILLS.
SECTION 1.-FIRST ADMINISTRATION OF SUPERINTENDENT VICTOR M. RICE,
1854 TO 1857.
Recommendations of the Superintendent.-Messages of Gov.
Clark.-Modification of the System.-District Commissioners.Apportionment of Public Money.-Normal Schools.-Increase of
State Tax. Rate Bills.-District Libraries.-General Condition of
the Schools........323-333
SECTION II.-ADMINISTRATION OF SUPERINTENDENT HENRY H. VAN DYCK,
1857 TO 1862.
Superintendent's Reports.-State Association of Teachers.School Fund Distribution and Apportionment.-District Libraries.
-District Commissioners. Teachers' Institutes.-Official Visitations.-Object Teaching.-Acting Superintendent Keyes.-Capital
of the Common School Fund.-Controversy with the Comptroller. 334-355
SIXTH PERIOD. FREE SCHOOL TRIUMPH.
SECTION 1. — SECOND ADMINISTRATION OF SUPERINTENDENT VICTOR M.
RICE, 1862 TO 1868.
Recapitulation.-District Libraries.-Condition of the Schools.
-Teachers' Institutes.-Oswego Normal and Training School.State Mill Tax.-Free Schools. -Rate Bills.- Code of Public
Instruction.- School Houses and Sites.-Female Teachers-Academical Departments.-Normal Schools.-Irregular Attendance of
Pupils.-Number of Uneducated Children.-Increase of State Tax.
-Abolition of Rate Bill System.-Truant Children.-FREE SCHOOL
ACT of 1867.-Teachers' Associations.-Union Schools.-Cornell
University.-Special Report relative to Common School Education in Europe and America.... 356-393




xiv                          CONTENTS.
SECTION II. —ADMINISTRATION OF SUPERINTENDENT ABRAM B. WEAVER,
1868 TO 1871.
Annual Reports.-Condition of the Schools.-District Libraries.
-Normal Schools. - Academical Departments.-Teachers' Institutes.- Union Free Schools. -Indian Schools.- State Board of
Education.-City and Village Schools.... 394-442
GENERAL SUMMARY OF THE ORGANIZATION, AND
RESULTS OF THE SYSTEM.                                         443
CONCLUDING CHAPTER.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES.-PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION.
Coleridge's Views.-Church and State.-Education, Physical,
Intellectual, Moral and Religious....... 444-463




HISTORY
H1 I S T  R PtY
OF THE
COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM
OF THE
STATE OF NEW YORK.
FIRST  PERIOD.-1787 TO  1814.
CONSTRUC'ION.
Condition of Educationz in the Dutch and English Colonies.-Foundation
of the Common School System.-Governor George Clinton.-Act of
I795.-Governors yay, Lewis, and Tompkins.-The New York
Free School Society.-De Witt Clinton. —The Lancasterian System,
of Instruction.-Jyedediah Peck.-Reorganization of the System in
1812-14.
THE  Comnmon School System of the State of New York,
as it now exists, is believed to be, with perhaps the
single exception of that of Massachusetts, the most perfect and comprehensive in its outlines, and the most practical in its details, of any to be found in Europe or America. It has served as the model for nearly all its successors in the several States of the Union; and, during
a period of more than three-fourths of a century, has
tasked the abilities of our ablest and ripest statesmen
in its construction and improvement.  From  a humble
and imperfect organization, embracing a few  scattered
and sparsely populated school districts, in which instruc



2                COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
tion in the simplest elementary branches of study was
imperfectly provided for, chiefly by parents and neighborhoods, aided by a slight contribution from a meager State
fund, it has grown to a vast and magnificent system,
wholly sustained by public funds, and State, district, and
municipal taxation-with a complete and thorough course
of instruction, open and free to every child between the
ages of four and twenty-one-embracing within its comprehensive organization more than twelve thousand public
schools, diffused over every section of the State, furnished
with every necessary apparatus, and with public libraries
numbering a million and a half volumes-and providing
all requisite facilities for the education of more than one
million of pupils!
It will be the purpose of this work to trace the progress and advancement of this system  from  its origin,
through its various stages of growth, to its present state;
to sketch the characters, abilities, and labors of those
eminent men who, from time to time, originated or directed its operations; to note its distinctive features, as
exhibited in its application to the various localities for
which it was designed, including the larger towns and
cities where special details of organization and administration became requisite; and to submit such practical
suggestions for its future improvement and expansion, as
a long and somewhat varied experience and observation
may seem  to warrant.
Prior to the close of the revolutionary war and the organization of the State government, very little general attention seems to have been bestowed upon the subject of
popular education. Those colonial families whose wealth
or competency enabled them to bestow upon their children greater advantages for instruction than the restricted
ones, which were common to all classes, were compelled




FIRST PERIOD.-CONSTRUCTION. 
either to send their children "home," as it was termed,
for a thorough English training-to import from  thence
teachers at a heavy cost-or to avail themselves of such
facilities as might be afforded in the eastern colonies,
where more attention had, at an early period, been given
to the subject. The early Dutch colonists had, it is true,
brought with them, under the direction of the government, a few teachers of approved learning; and one, at
least, of the schools established by them-that of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church-still exists in the great
metropolis which their countrymen founded-its interesting annals having been faithfully commemorated by one
of its latest and most distinguished teachers."
ADAMI IOELANDSDEN, who came over, in 1633, with
Governor Van Twiller, appears to have been the earliest
schoolmaster proper-his predecessors having discharged
the double duties of minister and teacher. These schools,
of which there were three in the city of New York-and,
doubtless, others in the various settlements-at the close
of Governor Stuyvesant's administration, were open and
free to all children who chose to attend, though the course
of instruction appears to have been primitive in the extreme, including only the simplest forms of arithmetic,
reading, writing, and spelling.
The founders of New York, unquestionably, brought
with themn from the fatherland, the earliest germs of our
modern system  of universal education and free schools,
which had already, during the sixteenth century, taken
firm root'in Holland, under the advice of John of Nassau,
brother of William  the Silent.  "You must urge upon
the States-General," wrote this far-seeing patriot, "that
they should establish  free schools, where children of
quality, as well as of poor families, for a very small sum,
* Mr. 1-1. W. Dunshee.




~4   ~       COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
could be well and Christianly educated and brought up.
This would be the greatest and most useful work you
could ever accomplish for God and Christianity, and for
the Netherlands themselves.  Soldiers and patriots thus
educated with a true knowledge of God and a Christian
conscience, also churches and school books and lprinting
presses, are better than all armies, armories, alliances, and
treaties that can be had or imagined in the world."'
In 1665 Governor Nichols granted permission to John
Shute, to open an English  school at Albany; and on
the accession of William  of Orange, subsequently to the
English occupancy  of the province, a provision in its
charter specifically required the appointment, by the ministers, elders, and deacons of the church, of a schoolmaster in each parish.
In 1710, the first English school west of Albany was
established at Schenectady, on the Mohawk River; and
forty years later, in 1750, another was opened in Schoharie.  In 1710, the school still existing in the city of
New York, under the name of Trinity School, was opened
by William  Huddleston, under the auspices of the English Church.  A  free grammar school had also previously
been established on the King's Farm, and a school for
colored children and several private schools within the
city limits. t  In 1755, John Nicholas Whelp, "a genuine
Dutch schoolmaster and chorister," was imported from
Holland by his countrymen  in  New  York, and served
acceptably in  his profession  until his death in 1773;
and his successor was expressly directed  "notf only to
teach reading, writing, and arithmetic, but to instruct
* Address before ihe St Nicholas Society of NTew York city, by Hon.
JAMES W. BEEKMAN, 1869.
t Public Education in the city of New York.  By Tuos. BOESE, Clerk
Board of Education, 1868-9.




FIRST PERIOD.-CONSTRUCTION.               5
the children in the English as well as in the Dutch language." *
Similar schools were scattered at wide intervals in
the various Dutch and English settlements on Long Island, Staten Island, and the shores of the Hudson, Delaware, and Mohawk; but in the distracted condition of
the colony, harassed by perpetual incursions of the savages on the one hand, and the pressure of foreign war
on the other, no efforts for any systematic organization
were possible: and amid the struggles of the pioneers in
the pathless wildernesses of the North and West for bare
subsistence, facilities of even the humblest kind for the
education of their children could only rarely have been
found.  Kings, or Columbia College, only, in the city
of New York, and private and select seminaries in the
most advanced settlements and principal towns, enabled
wealthy parents to supply this desirable requisite for
their children. At the first meeting of the State Legislature, however, after the adoption of the Constitution
of 1787, Gov. GEORGE CLINTON called the attention of
that body to the subject in the following terms:
"Negelect of the education of youth is one of the
evils consequent upon war. Perhaps there is scarce any
thing more worthy your attention than the revival and
encouragement of seminaries of learning; and nothing
by which we can more satisfactorily express our gratitude to the Supreme Being for his past favors-since
piety and virtue are generally the offspring of an enlightened understanding."
During this session an act was passed incorporating
the Regents of the University, and placing them in general charge of the colleges and academies of the State.
* Public Education in the city of New York. By THOS. BOESE, Clerk
Board of Education, 1868-9.




~6   ~      COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
In 1789 an act was passed  requiring  the surveyorgeneral to set apart two lots in each township, of the
public land thereafter to be surveyed, for gospel and
school purposes.  These lands, at that time, consisted
of more than seven million acres of wild, uncultivated,
and unimproved territory, situated chiefly in the northern and western sections of the State.
The Regents of the University, in their annual report for 1793, called the attention of the Legislature to
the numerous  advantages which, in  their judgment,
"would accrue to the citizens in general from the institution of schools in various parts of the State, for the
purpose of instructing children in the lower branches of
education, such as reading their native language with
propriety, and so much of writing and arithmetic as to
enable them, when they came forward into active life,
to transact, with accuracy and dispatch, the business
arising from  their daily intercourse with each other. "
The attention which the Legislature has evinced to promote literature by the liberal provision heretofore malde
encourages us, with all deference, to suggest- the propriety of rendering it permanent by setting apart, for
that salutary purpose, some of the unappropriated lands.
The value of these will be enhanced by the increase of
population.  The State will thus never want the means
of promoting useful science; and will thereby secure the
rational happiness and fix the liberty of the people on
the most permanent basis-that of knowledge and virtue."
Gov. CLINTON, in his address to the Legislature of
1792, had taken occasion to refer to the flourishing condition of the higher seminaries of learning, and to recommend additional aid and encouragement to those institutions. At the opening of the session of 1795, however, he initiated the great movement for the organiza



FIRST PERIOD.-CONSTRUCTION. 
tion of a Common School System, by the following recommendation:
"While it is evident that the general establishment
and liberal endowment of academies are highly to be
commended, and are attended with the most beneficial
consequences, yet, it cannot be denied that they are
principally confined to the children of the opulent, and
that a great portion of the community is excluded from
their immediate advantage. The establishnment of Commnon
Schools throughout the State is happily calculated to remedy this inconvenience, and will, therefore, engage your
early and decided consideration."
On the 11th of January a committee of the Assembly, consisting of JONATHAN NICOLL HAVENS, of Suffolk,
as chairman; DAVID BROOKS, of Dutchess; DAVID PYE,
of Orange; EBENEZER PURDY, of Westchester; DANIEL
GRAY, of Rensselaer; ADAM COMISTOCK, of Saratoga; and
RICHARD FURMAAN, of New York, was appointed to take
into consideration that portion of the Governor's message relating to the establishment of Common Schools
throughout the State.  On the 19th of February, Mr.
HAVENS, fiom  the committee, reported a bill entitled,
"An Act for the Encouragement of Schools," which
passed the House on the 4th, and the Senate on the 22d
of March, and received the approval of the Governor on
the 9th of April. By this act, the sum of $50,000 was
annually appropriated, for five years, "for the purpose
of encouraging and maintaining schools in the several
cities and towns in this State, in which the children of
the inhabitants residing in the State shall be instructed
in the English language, or be taught English grammar,
arithmetic, mathematics, and such other branches of
knowledge as are most useful and necessary to complete
a good English education."  This sum was, at first ap



8               COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
portioned to the several counties according to their representation in the Legislature, and afterward, according to
the number of electors for the lower branch; to the several towns, according to the number of taxable inhabitants in each; and to.the several school districts, according to the aggregate number of days instruction given
during the preceding year in each.   The board of supervisors of each county were required to raise by tax,
on each town, a sum  equal to one-half of that apportioned by the State, to be applied in the same manner.
Not less than three, nor more than seven commissioners
were directed to be annually chosen by the electors of
the several towns, to whom were committed the supervision and direction of the schools in each, and the apportionment of public money among the several districts.
Two or more trustees were authorized to be chosen by
the inhabitants and legal voters of the respective districts, who were required to  confer with the colmmissioners concerning the qualifications of the master or
masters employed, or intended to be employed, in their
schools, and concerning all matters relating to the welfare of the school, or to the propriety of erecting or
maintaining the same, so as to entitle it to a share of
the public money, "and whether the abilities and moral
character of the master or masters employed or intended
to be employed therein, are such as will meet with their
approbation."  "And if it shall at any time appear to
the said commissioners that the abilities or moral character of the master or masters of any schools are not
such that they ought to be intrusted with the education
of the youth, or that any of the branches of learning
taught in any school are not such as are intended to receive encouragement from  the moneys appropriated by
this act," the commissioners were required to notify, in



FIRST PERIOD.-CONSTRUCTION.              9
writing, the trustees of such disability, and to withdraw
the allowance of public money from the date of such notice, unless such school should thereafter be conducted
to the approbation of the said commissioners.  The
teachers were to be paid by the trustees on an order of
the commissioners on the county treasurer, who received
the apportionment of public money due to his county
from the State. The inhabitants and legal voters of the
respective districts weie also authorized "to associate
together for the purpose of procuring good and sufficient
school masters, and for erecting and maintaining schools."
Suitable provisions were made for the preparation and
transmission of annual reports to the State authorities
through the medium of trustees, commissioners, county
clerks, and treasurers.
On the basis of this simple organization the foundations of our present Common School System were originally laid; and for a short time seemed adequate to its
future expansion and success:  The official returns for
the year 1798-the only year in which even partial detailed reports were forwarded-show that in sixteen out
of the twenty-three counties of the State, there were
1,352 schools in successful operation, in which 59,660
children were under instruction for a longer or shorter
period during the year.
The appropriation made by the act of 1795 expired
with the year 1800, and although the organizations already
effected were partially kept up, the schools languished
for the want of their accustomed support, and the system was substantially abandoned. Gov. JAY, in his annual message of this year, directed the attention of the
Legislature to the subject, but without effect. Mr. ADAM
COMSTOCK, of Saratoga, on the 25th of March, procured
the passage of a resolution through the House, looking




10              COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
to the revival of the system, and its extension through
another leriod of five years, and a clause accordingly
was inserted in the annual supply bill at the close of the
session, but stricknen out by the Senate, and the measure
fell to the ground.
Among the leading?nd most prominent friends of
Common School education ill the Legislature at this period, and for several years succeeding, was JEDEDIAH
PECK, of Otsego, who first took his seat in the lower
House in January, 1799.  To him, more than to any
other man, was due the credit of re-establishing' the
Common School System  upon a permanent foundation,
after a long and persevering struggle in both branches
of the State Legislature, for twelve years. 1is friend,
Judge HIAM3MOND, who was a resident of the same county.
and who appears to have been intimately acquainted
with him, thus sketches his character and peculiarities
in his "Political History of New York" (Vol. I., pp.
123-4): "Judge PECK, although a clear-headed, sensible
man, was an uneducated emigrant from  Connecticut.
His appearance was diminutive, and almost disgulsting.
In religion he was fanatical, but in his political views
he was sincere, persevering, and bold; and although
meek and humble in his demeanor, he was by no means
destitute of personal ambition. He was an itinerant surveyor in the county of Otsego, then a new and uncultivated part of the State. He would survey your farm in
the day time, exhort and pray in your family at night,
and talk on politics the rest part of the time. Perhaps
on Sunday, or some evening of the week, he would
preach a sermon in your school house.":'  "It is
due to this plain, unlettered farmer to add, that he was
intent upon making some permanent provision for these
institutions [the public schoolsl; and that he formed the




FIRST PERIOD.-CONSTRUCTION.           1I
project of establishing a Common School Fund in pursuance of the example then lately furnished by Connecticut, the State from whence he emigrated; that he never
lost sight of it; and that to his indefatigable and persevering efforts, aided by 3Mr. ADkAM  COMSTOCK, of Saratoga, another uneducated and plain, but clear-sighted
and patriotic man, we are principally indebted for our
School Fund and our Common School System.  What
military chieftain —what mere conqueror by brute force,
has conferred so deep, so enduring an obligation upon
posterity?"  (p. 159.)
Through the persevering exertions of these two men,
an act was passed during the ensuing session of 1801,
directing the raising, by means of four successive lotteries, of the sum of one hundred thousand dollars, twelve
thousand five hundred of which were directed to be paid
to the Regents of the University, to be by them distributed among the academies, in such manner as they should
deem most proper; and the remaining eighty-seven thousand five hundred dollars to be paid into the Treasury
for the encouragement of Common Schools, as the Legislature might thereafter direct.  These lotteries were
known as "Literature Lotteries," and were not finally
discontinued until after the adoption of the Constitution
of 1821, by which all lotteries were prohibited.
The proceeds of these lotteries were subsequently
directed by the Legislature to be invested by the Comptroller in real estate, to await their ultimate destination.
In 1802, the Governor (GEORGE CLINTON) again called
the attention of the Legislature to the subject of Common Schools.  "The system of Common Schools," he
observes, "having been discontinued, and the advantages to morals, religion, liberty, and good government
arising from the general diffusion of knowledge being




12              COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
universally  admitted, permit me to  recommend  this
object to your deliberate attention. The failure of one
experiment for the attainment of an important object
ought not to discourage other attempts."  In the succeeding year, no action having been taken during the
preceding session, he renewed his recommendation in
the following energetic terms:  "The establishment of
Common Schools has, at different times, engaged the
attention of the Legislature; but, although  t its importance is generally acknowledged, a diversity of sentiment
respecting the best means has hitherto  prevented the
accomplishment of the object. The diffusion of knowledge is so essential to the promotion of virtue and
the preservation  of liberty, as to  render arguments
unnecessary to excite you to  a perseverance in this
laudable pursuit. Permit me only to observe that education, by  correcting  the  morals and improving the
manners, tends to prevent those evils in society which
are beyond the sphere of legislation."
On the 21st of February, 3Ir. PCI, from  the joint
committee of both houses on this portion of the Governor's speech, reported a bill authorizing the several
towns to re-organize their schools, and raise money for
their support by taxation.  This bill also failed to become a law.
In  1804, the  Governor again  renewed  his recomnendation, and Mr. PECK again reported his bill, which
was again destined to be defeated.
At the extra session of the Legislature, in November of the same year, Governor 3MORGAN LEWIS brought
the subject before that body  in  the  folloving language: "I cannot conclude, gentlemen, without calling
your attention  to  a  subject which  my worthy and
highly respected predecessor in office had much at heart,




FIRST PERIOD.-CONSTRUCTION.             13
and frequently, I believe, presented to your view —the
encouragement of literature.  In a government resting
on public opinion, and deriving its chief support from
the affections of the people, religion and morality cannot be too sedulously inculcated.  To them  science is
an handmaid-ignorance, the worst of enemies.  Literary information  should, then, be placed within the
reach  of every description  of citizens, and poverty
should not be permitted to obstruct the path to the
fane of knowledge.  Common Schools, under the guidance of respectable teachers, should be established in
every village, and  the indigent be educated  at the
public expense.  The higher seminaries, also, should
receive every patronage and support within the means
of enlightened legislators. Learning would thus flourish,
and vice be more effectually restrained than by volumes
of penal statutes."
On the 4th of February, 1805, Governor Luwis transmitted a special message to the Legislature, in which
he recommended the application of the proceeds of all
the State lands for the benefit of colleges and schools;
the entire fund and its management to be confided to
the Regents of the University, under such regulations
as the Legislature might prescribe-the Regents to appoint three trustees for each district, who should be
authorized to locate sites for school houses, to erect
such houses wherever necessary, employ teachers, apply
the district funds, and levy taxes on the inhabitants
for such further sums as might be required for the
support of the schools and the education of indigent
children.  With the exception, however, of that portion
referring to the appropriation of the public lands, none
of these suggestions seem to have met with any legislative response.  An act was passed on the second of




14              COIMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
April, providing that the net proceeds of five hundred
thousand acres of the vacant and unappropriated lands
owned by the State, which should be first thereafter
sold by the surveyor general, should be appropriated
as  a permanent fund  for the  support of Common
Schools; the avails to be safely invested  until the
interest should amount to  $50,000, when  an  annual
distribution of that amount should be made among the
several school districts of the State. This act laid the
foundation of the present Common School Fund. By the
act to incorporate the Merchants' Bank in the city.of
New York, passed during the same session, the State
reserved the right to subscribe for three thousand shares
of the capital stock of that institution, which, with
the accruing interest and dividends, were appropriated
to the support of Common Schools, in such manner as
the Legislature should from time to time direct. The
Comptroller was subsequently authorized to invest the
money, together with the proceeds arising from the lotteries previously authorized, in the purchase of additional
stock of the Merchants' Bank, and to loan the residue.
During the ensuing five years, no legislative action
was had in reference to this subject. The nucleus of a
permanent fund having been provided, the schools were
left to their own unaided resources.  The -organization,
provided by the act of 1795, was doubtless kept up by
the voluntary actions of the several towns and  districts, and elementary instruction supplied for a few
months in each year by teachers employed by such of
the inhabitants as required their services.
In the meantime, the foundations of an educational
system, destined to  act a  conspicuous part and to
achieve a high success in the future, had been securely
laid.  On the 9th of April, 1805, the act incorporating




FIRST PERIOD.-CONSTRUCTION.             15
the "Society for Establishing a Free School in the
city of New York, for the education of such poor children as do not belong to, or are not provided for, by
any religious society" became a law.  DB  WITT CLINTON, then Mayor of the city, Dr. Samuel L. Mitchell,
the officers and members of the common council, and
several other  representatives of the oldest English,
Dutch, and other families, were named as corporators.
An eligible school building was procured on the site of
the present Tryon Iow, and the school publicly opened
with appropriate exercises in May, 1809. The Lancasterian system of instruction was introduced, and under
the name of the "Free School Society of New York,"
additional schools were, from time to time, opened, and
the objects of the association amply and beneficently
carried out.
At the opening of the session of the Legislature of
1810, Gov. TOMPKINS thus alluded to the subject of
Common School education:
"I cannot omit this occasion of inviting your attention to the means of instruction for the rising generation.  To enable them to perceive and duly to estimate their rights; to inculcate correct principles and
habits of morality and religion; and to render them
useful citizens, a competent provision for their education is all-essential. The fund appropriated for Common
Schools already produces an income of about $26,000
annually, and is daily becoming more productive.  It
rests with the Legislature to determine whether the resources of the State will justify a further augmentation of that appropriation, as well as to adopt such
plan for its application and distribution as shall appear
best calculated to promote the important object for
which it was originally designed."




1i 6            CCOMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
On the 28th of February, the Comptroller, in obedience to a resolution calling upon him  for information
as to the condition of the school fund, reported that
the amount of receipts into the treasury, up to that
period, of moneys belonging to the fund, was $151,115.69,
of which $29,100 had been invested in the capital stock
of the AMerchants' Bank, 8114,600 loaned in pursuance
of law, and the residue remained in the treasury.
In 1811, Gov. ToMPrrIxs again called the attention
of the Legislature  to  this subject; and an act was
passed during the session, authorizing the appointment
by the Governor, of five commissioners, to report a system for the establishment and organization of Common
Schools.  The commissioners appointed under this act
were, JEDEIDIAH PECI of Otsego, John Murray, Jr., of
New York, Samuel Iussell, Roger Skinner of Washington, and Robert Macomb.
On the 17th of February, 1812, the commissioners
submitted a report, accompanied by the draft of a bill,
comprising substantially, with one exception, the main
features of our Common School System, as it existed up
to 1840. In the act as originally passed, the electors of
each town were authorized to determine, at their annual
town meeting, whether they would accept their share
of the money apportioned'by the State, and direct the
raising of the equal amount required on their taxable
lroperty. This provision was, however, as will hereafter
be seen, subsequently stricken  out, and the reception
of the public money and the tax made imperative.
The report of the commissioners, drawn up by Judge
PECK, was a very able document; and as it fully illustrates the advanced views then entertained of the importance and indispensable necessity of general education; sketches the leading outlines of the system  pro



FIRST PEPIOD.-CONSTRUCTION.                         17
posed for its attainment; recapitulates in  a  clear manner the  resources  at the  disposal of the  State  for its
accomplishment;  and  illustrates the  particular method
of instruction, proposed  to  be  adopted, and  known  as
the Lancasterian  system, it has been deemed  proper to
present it entire.
" IN ASSEMBLY, Feb. 17, 1812.
"The Commissioners appointed by the Governor, pursuant to the Act passed
April 9th, 1811, to report a system for the organization and establishment of Common Schools, and the distribution of the interest of the
School Fund among the Common Schools of this State, beg leave
respectfully to submit the following
REPORT:
" Perhaps there never will be presented to the Legislature a subject of
more importance than the establishment of Common Schools. Education,
as the means of improving the moral and intellectual faculties, is, under all
circumstances, a subject of the most imposing consideration. To rescue man
from that state of degradation to which he is doomed, unless redeemed by
education; to unfold his physical, intellectual, and moral powers; and to fit
him for those high destinies which his Creator has prepared for him, cannot
fail to excite the most ardent sensibility of the philosopher and the philanthropist. A comparison of the savage that roams through the forest, with
the enlightened inhabitant of a civilized country, would be a brief but
impressive representation of the momentous importance of education.
" It were an easy task for the Commissioners to show, that in proportion
as every country has been enlightened by education, so has been its prosperity. When the heads and the hearts of men are generally cultivated and
improved, virtue and wisdom must reign, and vice and ignorance must cease
to prevail. Virtue and wisdom are the parents of private and public felicity;
vice and ignorance, of private and public misery.
" If education be the cause of the advancement of other nations, it must
be apparent to the most superficial observer of our peculiar political constitution, that it is essential not to our prosperity only, but to the very existence of our government. Whatever may be the efIect of education on a
despotic or monarchical government, it is not absolutely indispensable to the
existence of either. In a despotic government the people have no agency
whatever, either in the formation or the execution of the laws. They are
the mere slaves of arbitrary authority, holding their lives and property at
the pleasure of uncontrolled caprice. As the will of the ruler is the supreme
law; fear, slavish fear, on the part of the governed, is the principle of
despotism. It will be perceived readily, that ignorance on the part of the
people can present no barrier to the administration of such a government;
2




18                    COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
and much less can it endanger its existence.  In a monarchical government,
the operation of fixed laws is intended to supersede the necessity of intelligence in the people. But in a government like ours, where the people is
the sovereign power-where the will of the people is the law of the land,
which will is openly and directly expressed-and where every act of the
government may justly be called the act of the people —it is absolutely
essential that that people be enlightened.  They must possess both intelligence and virtue; intelligence to perceive what is right, and virtue to do
what is right.  Our Republic, therefore, may justly be said to be founded
on the intelligence and virtue of the people. For this reason, it is with
much propriety that the enlightened Montesquieu has said:' In a republic
the whole force of education is required.'
"The Commissioners think it unnecessary to represent in a stronger point
of view the importance and absolute necessity of education, as connected
either with the cause of religion and morality, or with the prosperity and
existence of our political institutions. As the people must receive the
advantages of education, the inquiry naturally arises how this end is to be
attained.  The expedient devised by tle Legislature is the establishment of
Common Schools, which, being spread throughout the State, and aided by
its bounty, will bring improvement within the reach and power of the
humblest citizen. This appears to be the best plan that can be devised to
disseminate religion, morality, and learning throughout a whole country.
All other methods heretofore adopted are partial in their operation and
circumscribed in their effects.  Academies and universities, understood in
contradistinction to common schools, cannot be considered as operating
impartially and indiscriminately as regards the country at large.  The
advantages of the first are confined to the particular districts in which they
are established; and the second, from  causes apparent to every one, are
devoted almost exclusively to the rich.  In a free government, where political equality is established, and where the road to preferment is open to all,
there is a natural stimulus to education; and, accordingly, we find it generally resorted to, unless some great local impediments interfere. In populous
cities, and the parts of the country thickly settled, schools are generally
established by individual exertion. In these cases, the means of education
are facilitated, as the  expenses of schools are divided  among a great
many. It is in the remote and thinly populated parts of the State, where
the inhabitants are scattered over a large extent, that education stands
greatly in need of encouragement.  The people here living far from  each
other, makes it difficult so to establish schools as to render them convenient
or accessible to all. Every family, therefore, must either educate its own
children, or the children must forego the advantages of education.
"These inconveniences can be remedied best by the establishment of
Common Schools, under the direction and patronage of the State  In these
schools should be taught at least those branches of education which are
indispensably necessary to every person in his intercourse with the world, and
to the performance of his duty as a useful citizen.  Reading, writing, arith



FIRST  PERIOD.-CONSTRUCTION.                            10
metic, and the principles of morality, are essential to every person, however
humble his situation in life. Without the first, it is impossible to receive
those lessons of morality which are inculcated in the writings of the learned
and pious; nor is it possible to become acquainted with our political constitutions and laws, nor to decide those great political questions which
ultimately are referred to the intelligence of the people.  Writing and arithmetic are indispensable in the management of one's private affairs, and to
facilitate one's commerce with the world.  Morality and religion are the
foundation of all that is truly great and good; and are, consequently, of
primary importance.  A person provided with these acquisitions is enabled
to pass through the world respectably and successfully.  If, however, it be
his intention to become acquainted with the higher branches of science, the
academies and universities established in different parts of the State are open
to him. In this manner education, in all its stages, is offered to the citizens
generally.
"In devising a plan for the organization and establishment of Common
Schools, the Commissioners have proceeded with great care and deliberation.
To frame a system which shall directly affect every citizen in the State; and
so to regulate it as that it shall obviate individual and local discontent, and
yet be generally beneficial, is a task at once perplexing and. arduous. To
avoid the imputation of local partiality, and to devise a plan operating with
equal mildness and advantage, has been the object of the Commissioners.
To effect this end, they have consulted the experience of others, and resorted
to every probable source of intelligence.  From  neighboring States, where
Common School systems are established by law, they have derived much
important information.  This information is doubly valuable, as it is the
result of long and actual experience.  The Commissioners, by closely examining the rise and progress of those systems,~have been able to obviate many
imperfections, otherwise inseparable from the novelty of the establishment,
and to discover the means by which they have gradually risen to their
present condition.
" The outlines of the plan suggested by the Commissioners are briefly
these: That the several towns of the State be divided into school districts
by three commissioners, elected by the citizens qualified to vote for town
officers. That three trustees be elected in each district, to whom shall be confided the care and superintendence of the school to be established therein;
that the interest of the school fund be divided among the different counties
and towns, according to their respective population, as ascertained by the
successive census of the United States.  That the proportion received by the
respective towns be subdivided among the districts, into which such towns
shall be divided, according to the number of children in each between the
age of five and fifteen years, inclusive.  That each town raise by tax, annually, as much money as it shall have received from the school fund.  That
the gross amount of moneys received from the State and raised by the towns
be appropriated exclusively to the payment of the wages of the teachers.
That the whole system be placed under the superintendence of an officer




20                     COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
appointed by the Council of Appointment.  These are the great outlines of
the plan.  The details will appear more fully by the sketch of a law herewith
submitted to the consideration of the Legislature.
"This being the plan devised by the Commissioners, let us next inquire
what means the Legislature have assigned to carry it into effect. This will
be explained by a reference to the report of the Comptroller of the State.
made to the Legislature the 11th of February, instant.  By this it appears
that the school fund is composed of the following items:Bonds and mortgages for part of the consideration money of
lands sold by the Surveyor General....................  $240,370 67
3000 shares of the capital stock of the Merchant's Bank......    150,000 00
300 "         "           "        "   Hudson Bank.......             15,000 00
Mortgages for Loans.................................               101,924 52
Bond of Horatio G. Spafford, and sureties for a Loan........           3,000 00
Bond of the Mechanics' Bank in the City of New York......           10,000 00
Arrears of interest due on the bonds and mortgages of the fund        35,831 13
Balance in the Treasury on the 31st of December, 1811, belonging to this fund.....................................             2,338 37
$558,464 69
ZREVENUE.
The revenue of the school fund for this year is estimated at $45,216.95,
arising from the following sources:
Annual interest on bond, and mortgages....................   $21,766 95
Dividends on bank stock..................................    14,850 00
Probable collection from personsrefusing to do military duty.          1,00 00
Proceeds of the Clerk's office of the Supreme Court'.........         7,000 00
$45,216 95
" It further appears by the same report, that of the 500,000 acres of land
which are directed by Iaw to be sold for the benefit of the school fund, the
Surveyor General has already sold 198,507% —   acres, leaving 301,492 3-44
acres yet to be appropriated to that purpose. As soon as this fund shall
have produced a revenue of $50,000, that revenue, by the act of April 2d,
1805, is to be divided among the different counties of the State.
"It will readily be perceived by the Legislature, that if the Common
School establishment were intended to be maintained by this fund exclu_
sively, the fund would fall far short of being adequate to the object.  A
brief statement will make this fact very apparent:
" Let us suppose that the school fund were arrived at that point when lby
law it is to be divided.  There will then be $50,000 of public money to be
distributed among the schools; and as, by the contemplated plan, a sum is to
be raised annually by tax, equal to the interest of the school fund, the gross
amount of moneys which the schools will receive will be $100,000. There are
in this State 45 counties, comprising, exclusively of the cities, 449 towns.




FIRST  PERIOD.-CONSTRUCTION.                            21
It will be very evident, therefore, that the proportion of each town must
necessarily be small. As, however, the school districts are authorized to raise,
by tax, a sum sufficient to purchase a lot on which the school house is to be
built, to build the school house, and to keep the same in repair; and as the
school moneys are devoted exclusively to the payment of the teachers' wages,
the sum, however small, which each district will be entitled to, will be from
these considerations so much the more efficacious. It will, however, be evident to the Legislature that the funds appropriated by the State for the support of the Common School system will, alone, be very inadequate. And the
Commissioners are of the opinion that the fund, in any stage of it, even
when the residue of the unsold lands shall b3 converted into money bearing
an interest, never will be alone adequate to the maintenance of Common
Schools, as the increase of the population will probably be in as great, if
not a greater, ratio than that of the fund.  But it is hardly to be imagined
the Legislature intended that the State should support the whole expense of
so great an establishment.  The object of the Legislature, as understood by
the Commissioners, was to rouse the public attention to the important subject
of education, and, by adopting a system of Common Schools in the expense
of which the State would largely participate, to bring instruction within the
reach and means of the humblest citizen. And the Commissioners have
kept in view the furtherance of the object of the Legislature: for, by requiring each district to raise by tax a sum sufficient to build and repair a school
house, and by allotting the school moneys solely to the payment of the
teachers' wages, they have in a measure supplied two of the most important
sources of expenses.  Thus every inducement will be held out to the instruction of youth.
"As to the particular mode of instruction best calculated to communicate
to the young mind the greatest quantity of useful knowledge in a given
time, and with the least expense, the Commissioners beg leave to observe
that there are a variety of new methods lately adopted, in various parts of
Europe, of imparting instruction to youths, some of which methods have
been partially introduced into the United States. The Lancasterian plan, as
it is called, which has lately been introduced into some of the large towns
of the United States, merits the serious consideration of the Legislature. As
an expeditious and cheap mode of instructing a large number of scholars,
it stands unrivalled, and the certificates of the Trustees of the New York
Free School, together with those of divers tutors, carry with them  the evidence of its vast utility and success.  The Commissioners, therefore, recommend that a number of Lancaster's books, containing an account of his
mode of teaching, &c., be printed by order of the Legislature, and distributed
among the several towns in this State.
"The Legislature will perceive, in the system contained in the bill submitted to their consideration, that the Commissioners are deeply impressed
with the importance of admitting, under the contemplated plan, such teachers only as are duly qualified.  The respectability of every school must necessarily depend on the character of the master. To entitle a teacher to assume




22                    COCMMION SCHOOL SYSTEAM.
the control of a school, he should be endowed with the requisite literary
qualifications not only, but with unimpeachable character. He should also
be a man of patient and mild temperament.' A preceptor,' says Rousseau,'is invested with the rights, and takes upon himself the obligations, of both
father and mother.' And Quintilian tells us that'to the requisite literary
and moral endowments he must add the benevolent disposition of a parent.'' To enable a teacher to perform the trust reposed in him, the above
qualifications are indispensable.  When we consider the tender age at which
children are sent to school-the length of the time they pass under the
direction of the teachers; when we consider that their little minds are to be
diverted fiom their natural propensities to the artificial acquisition of knowledge-that they are to be prepared for the reception of great moral and reiigious truths, to be inspired with a love of virtue and a detestation of vice;
we will forcibly perceive the absolute necessity of the above qualifications in
the master. As an impediment to bad men getting into the schools as teachers. it is made the duty of the town inspectors strictly to inquire into the
moral and literary qualifications of those who may be candidates for the
place of teacher.  And it is hoped that this precaution, aided by that desire
which generally prevails of employing good men only, will render it unnecessary to resort to any other measure.
" The Commissioners, at the same time that they feel impressed with the
importance of employing teachers of the character described, cannot refiain
from expressing their solieitude a3 to the introduction of proper books into
the contemplated schools.  This is a subject so intimately connected with a
good education, that it merits the serious consideration of all who are concerned in the establishment and management of schools.  Much good is to be
derived from a judicious selection of books, calculated to enlighten the understanding not only, but to improve the heart.  And as it is of incalculable
consequence to guard the young and tender mind from receiving fallacious
impressions, the Commissioners cannot omit mentioning this subject as a part
of the weighty trust reposed in them.  Connected with the introduction of
suitable books, the Commissioners take the liberty of suggesting that some
observation and advice touching the reading of the BIBLE in the schools
might be salutary.  In order to render the sacred volume productive of the
greatest advantage, it should be held in a very different light fiomn that of a
common school book.  It should be regarded as a book intended for literary
I improvement, not merely, but as inculcating great and indispensable moral
truths also.  With these Impressions the Commissioners are induced to recommend the practice introduced into the New York Free Schools, of having
select chapters read at the opening of the school in the morning, and the
like at the close in the afternoon. This is deemed the best mode of preserving the religious regard which is due to the sacred writings.
"It will naturally occur to the Legislature, as the interest of the school
fund is to be divided every year among the counties and towns, as soon as it
shall amount to $50,000 annually, that this sum must be forthcoming on a
fixed day, annually, to meet the contingencies for which it is appropriated.




FIRST  PERIOD.-CONSTRUCTION.                            23'
Without a certainty in the payment of the annual appropriations, the whole
system will be impeded in its operation.  By a recurrence to the report of the
Comptroller, it will appear that the greatest part of the revenue of the school
fund arises from sources which preclude thl  probability of certainty in th3
receipt.  The interest arising from moneys loaned on mortgage, the net proceeds of the offices of the clerks of the Supreme Court, &e., cannot be counted on with any certainty as to time.  This inconvenience must be in some
way remedied; and the most advisable method that occurs to the Commissioners, will be by the annual appropriation by the State of a sum equll to
the interest of the school fund, the state having recourse to the debtors of the
fund for arrears of interest for its reimbursement.
"The Commissioners have deemed it proper to recommend to the Legislature the appointment of an officer, whose duty it shall be to superintend,
generally, the interests and watch the operation of the Common School system. They are induced to this measure by the consideration that the system is sufficiently important to justify the measure.
"'The Commissioners cannot conclude this report without expressing,
once more, their deep sense of the momentous subject committed to them.
If we regard it as connected with the cause of religion and morality merely,
its aspect is awfully solemn. But the other view of it, already alluded to, is
sufficient to excite the keenest solicitude in the Legislative body.. It is a subject, let it be repeated, intimately connected with the permanent prosperity of
our political institutions.  The American empire is founded on the virtue and
intelligence of the people. But it were irrational to conceive that any form
of government can long exist without virtue in the people.  Where the largest
portion of a nation is vicious, the government must cease to exist, as it loses
its functions.  The laws cannot be executed where every man has a personal
interest in screening and protecting the profligate and abandoned.  When
these are unrestrained by the wholesome coercion of authority, they give
way to every species of excess and crime.  One enormity brings on another,
until the whole community, becoming corrupt, bursts forth in some mighty
change, or sinks at once into annihilation.' Can it be,' said Washington,'that Providence has not connected the permaaent felicity of a nation with
its virtue.'' The experiment, at least, is recommended by every sentiment
which ennobles human nature.'
And the (ommissioners cannot but hope that that Being who rules the
universe in justice and in mercy, who rewards virtue and punishes vice, will
most graciously deign to smile benignly on the humble efforts of a people in
a cause purely His own; and that He will manifest His pleasure in the lasting prosperity of our country.' JEDIDIAH  PECK,   )
JOHN MAURRAY, JR. 
SAMUEL RUSSEL,   t Commissioners."
ROGER SKINNER, 
ROBERT MACOMB,  J




SECOND PERIOD.-1813 TO 1839.
ORGANIZATION.
SECTION I.  ADMINISTRATION OF GIDEON HAWLEY, SUPERINTENDENT OF COMMON SCHOOLS. —I813 TO 1821.
Annual Reports.-Lancasterian System of Instruction.-Revision of the
School Laws.-Progress of the System.-Removal of Mr. Hawley.-His Character.-Transfer of the Duties of the Offce to
that of the Secretary of State.
O~N the 14th of January, 1813, GIDEON HAWLEY, Esq.,
of Albany, was appointed by  the Governor and
Council, SUPERINTENDENT Or  COMMION SCHooLs, under
the act of the Legislature of the preceding year.  "Mr.
HAWLEY," observes Judge Hammond, in his "Political
History" (Vol. I., p. 346), "was then a young lawyer,
resident in Albany, of habits indefatigably industrious,
modest and retiring, but possessing great benevolence
of heart, vigorous intellectual powers, and high literary
attainments.  For the paltry salary of three hundred
dollars a year, he perfected a system  for the management of the School Fund; the organization  of every
neighborhood. in this great State into school districts;
for a fair and equal distribution of the bounty of the
State into every district; and he devised a plan of operations by which this vast machinery could be moved and
managed by a single individual.  The State has never
rewarded him for his labors; but posterity, it is believed,
will do justice to his merits, his services, and his character."
MrI. HAWLEY, in his first annual report, under date




SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.              25
of February 14th, 1814, informed the Legislature that at
the colmmencement of his official term he had, in accordance with the provisions of the act of 1812, given due
notice of an intended distribution of the interest of the
School Fund; that although no official returns had been
received from which an estimate might be formed of the
beneficial operation of the act, satisfactory evidence had
been obtained, that in many cases its operation had been
prevented by the refusal or neglect of towns to comply
with its provisions, and by the imperfection of many of
its details; but that, notwithstanding these obstacles,
its influence had already proved very salutary, and that,
with the aid of legislative amendment, it promised to
yield all that encouragement to Common Schools which
it was designed to give.  "It was not to be expected,"
he observes, "that any system for the establishment of
Common Schools could be devised which, in its first form,
should be wholly free from  imperfections; and accordingly it has been found that the existing law is, in some
respects, defective in its provisions, and obscure and
doubtful in its meaning."  After specifying several imperfections in the details of the act, and their unfavorable effect in the practical administration of the system,
and suggesting the requisite amendments, he invites the
special attention of the Legislature to the operation of
that portion of the law which left it optional.to the several towns to comply with its conditions and participate
in its benefits or not, as the inhabitants might, at their
annual town meetings, determine.  "By allowing such
an option to every town," he continues, "the operation
of the act, depending on the pleasure and, not unfrequently, the caprice of a few individuals, will be always
partial and fluctuating; it will, moreover, be embarrassed
by all the difficulties which are naturally connected with




20"                COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEMI.
instability of system and intricacy of form. It is, therefore, submitted, whether this provision of the act may
not be so amended as to make it obligatory on towns to
comply with the act, and also  on the boards of supervisors of the several counties to levy on their respective
towns a sum  equal to  that apportioned to  such  towns
from  the public money to be distributed."
These various suggestions and recommendations were
approved by the  Legislature, and the act amended in
accordance therewith.  The returns for the ensuing year
from  the various towns and districts were, however, so
imperfect, that the Superintendent deemed it inexpedient
to transmit them  to that body with his annual report.
In April, 1816, however, it appeared from  the report
of MIr. HIawley, that returns  had  been  received  from
three hundred and thirty-eight towns in thirty-six of the
forty-six counties of the State; that the whole number
of districts reporting was 2,631; the number of children
between  the ages of five and fifteen, residing  therein,
176,449; and that 140,106 had been under instruction during a portion  of the year reported.  He estimates the
whole number of districts in the State, however, at five
thousand; the number of children betvween five and fifteen, 250,000; and the number taught, at least 200,000.
The discrepancy  between  the actual returns and these
estimates, he attributes to  the incompleteness and imperfections of the reports; their entire  absence in ten
counties, and partial absence in several others.
"The Superintendent has also the satisfaction to learn from other sources
that the establishment of Common Schools by law has already prodi:ccd
many great and beneficial results. The number of schools has been increased; many school houses have been built; more able teachers employed;
and much of that interest which ought to be felt in behalf of Conmmon
Schools has been generally excited. The beneficial operation of the act has
also been visible in the pecuniary aid which many schools have derived




SECOND  PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.                       27
from it. A perpetual annuity of twenty dollars, which is the average sum received by each district, under the act, ought not to be considered a trifle unworthy of any account. It has been very sensibly felt, especially in those
districts where, from the inability of the inhabitants, or from any other cause,
Common Schools have not been kept open for the whole year; and when
the revenue of the fund shall have attained its lull growth, the distributive
share of each district will be so much more considerable, that the munificence of the Legislature can not fail to be more gratefully acknowledged.''But the great benefit of the act does not lie in any pecuniary aid which
it may afford. The people of this State are, in general, able to educate
their chlldren without the aid of any public gratuity; and if they fail in
this respect. it is owing more to their want of proper schools than of sufficient means. The public gratuity is important, as it tends to excite an interest in the affairs of Common Schools which might not otherwise be felt,
and in many other respects. But the great benefit of the act consists in
securing the establishment of Common Schools wherever they are necessary;
in organizing them on a suitable and permanent foundation; and in guarding them  against the admission of unqualified teachers.  These were the
great ends proposed in the establishment of Common Schools by law; and
under the wise and liberal policy of the Legislature, these ends have been:o
far accomplished as to warrant full faith in their final complete attainment."
The official returns for the two succeeding years seem
amply to have verified the judgment of the Superintendent.   Additional amendments  to the  act were made in
1815;  and in  his  report of 1818, MBr. Hawley suggests
the  propriety  of  a  full and  complete  revision  of the
several acts, with  such  modifications  and  additions  as
experience in the  practical administration  of the system
may have  shown  to  be  necessary  and  desirable.   The
residue of the report for this year is devoted to a consideration  of  the  LANCASTERIAN  system   of  education,
the  general  introduction  of  which  into  the  Colmmon
Schools  had been  Strongly  advocated and recommendel
by  the  Governor (DE WITT  CLINTON) in  his speech at
the  opening  of the session.   The  peculiar excellencies
of this system  were dwelt upon at length by the  Superintendent, and its adoption, especially in the larger city
and village schools, urgently and  ably enforced.  Under
the  impetus  thus  afforded, this method  of mutual ele



28              COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
mentary instruction was very widely adopted, chiefly,
however, by the incorporation of societies, and the establishment of schools in many of the cities and larger
towns for this specific purpose.
This system, which for a period of nearly twenty
years enjoyed so great a share of popularity, both in
England and this country, appears to  have had its
origin in the Mission Schools of Madras, in India, from
whence it was transplanted to England about the year
1789, by Dr. ANDREW BELL, a clergyman of the Church
of England. From his instructions and practice, JOSEPH
LANCASTER, a member of the Society of Friends, was
enabled, soon afterward, to open a school in the Borough Road, near London, for its practical illustration,
which, in 1805, was visited by one of the members of
the New  York Free  School Society.  This gentleman
was so strongly impressed with its advantages, that on
his return  he at once procured its adoption in the
schools of the Society.  So successful was the experiiment, that the most intelligent minds of the country
became speedily enlisted in its favor and interested in
its general extension. DE WITT CLINTON, in his speech
on the opening of the Free School in /New York, in
1809, says, "I confess that I recognize in Lncaster,
the benefactor of the human race.  I consider -his system  as creating a new era in education  as a blessing
sent down from  Heaven, to redeem the poor and distVessed of this world from the powe  and dominion of
ignorance."  In. his message to the Legislature of 1818,
he says: "Having participated in the first es-tablishment of the Lancasterian system  in this country'; having carefully  observed its progress and witnessed its
benefits, I can confidently recommend it as an invaluable improvement, which, by wvonderful combination of




SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.              29
economy in expense, and rapidity of instruction, has
created a new era in education.  The system  operates
with the same efficacy in education as labor-saving' machinery does in the useful arts."  President ELIPHALET
NOTT, of Union College, in his address to the students
of that institution, in 1811, enthusiastically  exclaims,
"Where is Lancaster, who has introduced and is introducing a new era in education?"   The Venerable ExPresident JOHN  ADAMS, writes to a friend in  Cambridge, a few years later:  "I have heard friend Lancaster with pleasure; he is an excellent scholastic and
academic disciplinarian. I was really delighted and enlightened by that lecture." *  The Trustees of the New
York Free School Society, through their President, Mr.
CLINTON, having been applied to, by the Commissioners
for the  organization  and  establishment of Common
Schools in 1812, for information concerning the Lancasterian system, had no hesitation in giving it as their
sentiments, that it was a very great improvement in
the plan of education.  "Although an opinion is entertained by some," they observe, "that it is in a
considerable degree calculated for large schools exclusively, and therefore peculiarly well adapted for cities
and populous towns; yet, from actual experiment, having in the first stage of the New York Free School,
which consisted of fifteen  to thirty  scholars, introtroduced the system, and ever since pursued it with
good success, they have no doubt remaining as to its
utility on a small scale, and  can, with propriety, recommend it for general use and practice."  In corroboration, they forward the testimony of William  Smith,
Principal of School No. 1, John Missing, of No. 2,
* Barnard's American Journal of Education, 1861.




30                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
and Charles  C. Andrews of the  African  Free  School,
as conclusive in its favor.
Mlr. SMITH, who appears to have been the first person
to introduce the system  in  the city of New  York, after
six  years' experience  as Principal of  the  Free  School,
says:
"I feel confident in asserting that the plan, if carefully and steadily pursued, will be productive of the greatest possible advantage in the education
of children, and may be introduced into any Common Schools where reading, writing, and arithmetic are taught. The consideration of the number
of pupils is of no importance; twenty scholars can be so disposed as to make
the system profitable, in the same proportion as a thousand." " The interest
of the citizens of Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, and other parts of the
United States, has been animated by frequent visits and examinations of this
school; and the laudable example of this institution has been followed by all
the free, and most of the private schools of New York; and, in the cities
above-mentioned, schools have been established upon the Lancasterian plan
with the most promising effect."
Mr. SAMUEL  VW. SETON, in  his  Sketch  of  the  Rise
and Progress of the Public School Society, says:
" The original peculiarities of that system were, the teaching of a great
number at one time and at one place and under a single teacher, through
the aid of the pupils themselves; and thus, five hundred or even a thousand children might be capable of receiving, simultaneously, instruction
on the same subject-the whole mass of scholars being trained to habits
of industry, order, and virtue. But as it could only be carried to a limited
extent, in the form in which it was prescribed by its founders, that peculiar feature of its excellence, mutual instruction, while it extended vast
facilities to the teachers, did not afford to the pupil all the benefits which,
with proper modifications, it was capable of conferring. Alterations were,
accordingly suggested and gradually introduced; and the schools were
greatly advanced and improved by blending in their plans and arrangements the beautiful mechanism  of instruction in LANCASTER'S system with
the better adapted philosophy of education existing in that of his cotemporary and rival, Dr. BELL, of Madras. Indeed, LANCASTER himself had
partially availed himself of it; and on his visit to the city of New York,
and inspection of the system as there in operation, admiring and commending the reform, he acknowledged the wisdom  and skill with which his
plans had been so vastly improved for the more general purposes of education, yet retaining so much of its original and important feature of




SECOND  PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.                        31
economy of means and tact of management in all the physical operations of
the school.  By these modifications, the principle of   mind acting on
mind' is brought effectually into operation-time economized, industry
an:d activity promoted, the mental powers invigorated by independent action, and the discipline of the school rendered comparatively easy. The
best of order at all times prevails, sometimes amidst the most profound
silence, and at others during the constant motion and busy hum of actual
labor-the school presenting a well organized little community, under the
direction of its leaders, doing each other good, and each partaking of the
benefits produced by the united labors of all."
Mr. MISSING  says:
"From  my own personal knowledge of that beneficial plan, I do not
hesitate to give it as my opinion that it has the most decided preference to
the common method of tuition. I have often been astonished to see with
what facility a child, unacquainted with the letters, would learn to spell,
read, and write at the same time; and also how expeditiously a child unacquainted with figures would, by that practical method of arithmetic, learn the
fundamental rules, so as not to by exceeded by the first arithmeticians. The
order and discipline laid down by Mr. Lancaster, and the small premiums
given to promote emulation and morals among the scholars, has the tendency of accelerating their improvement far beyond any thing adopted in
Common Schools. In short, it is only for a person to lay aside his prejudice,
and to read Mr. Lancaster's system of education, and he must be forcibly
struck with the superiority of his plan; but let the same person put it in
practice, and he will be more deeply impressed with its beneficial effects. I
am fully persuaded that this excellent system, if duly attended to, might be
introduced into Common Schools, whether the number of scholars be few
or many, to. great advantage, as I am confident it will lose none of its preeminent qualities, because the number may be small. Thirty, or one thousand,
may derive equal advantage from its practical effects. A system which has,
in England, received the royal patronage-which has been sanctioned by its
first literary characters-which has received the support and approbation of
the whole University of Cambridge-which has, perhaps, by this time, been
adopted in every city, town, and village throughout the United Kingdom of
Great Britain, must be considered as having many powerful arguments in its
favor, and strong claim to its being adopted in every city and town in these
United States, to the great advantage of the education of our youth. It is
my firm belief that future generations will revere the name of Joseph Lancaster, as the founder of a system so well calculated to improve the morals,
as well as to promote the education of youth, as the present generation does
the name of Sir Isaac Newton for philosophy, or Howard for philanthropy."
Mr. ANDBS WS, of the African  School, adds his decided
testimony to the value and efficiency of the system.




32              COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
The method of instruction appears originally to have
been very simple, and to have consisted in a division of
the school into classes under the general supervision of
the principal, and of each class into pairs of two pupils,
each alternately acting as tutor to the other-the entire
class being supervised by a teacher and assistant teacher.
Its chief feature and prominent principle, amid all its
subsequent modifications, was that of mutual instruction,
as far as practicable, among the pupils themselves, under
the charge and by the aid of competent adult instructors.
In December, 1818, Mr. LANCASTER himself arrived
in New York, where he was warmly welcomed by Gov.
CLINTON and other prominent citizens; visited the public schools of the city; gave a series of public lectures;
and infused new life and animation into the operations
of the various educational institutions which had adopted
his method of instruction.  Twenty years afterward, in
1838, he again visited the city, and ineffectually endeavored to re-establish his system. The lapse of nearly an
entire generation had thrown it into the shade-educational science, in its rapid progress, had superseded it
by new methods and more modern ideas-his proposals
were respectfully declined; and a few days subsequently
a fatal street accident terminated his life. All honor to
his memory! As the pioneer of elementary public instruction, he accomplished a vast amount of good in
both hemispheres; obtained the confidence and regard
of many of the greatest, wisest, and best statesmen and
philanthropists of the age; and left the impress of his
genius strongly marked upon the earliest developments
of our great system of public instruction.
In 1819, as appears by the Superintendent's annual
report, the number of school districts in the State had
reached nearly six thousand, and the number of children




SECOND  PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.                       33
taught during  the  preceding  year  nearly  250,000.   He
again attributes the great increase and prosperity of the
schools to  the  wise and  liberal policy  adopted  by  the
Legislature  for  their  encouragement  and  support.   A
comparison of the returns made for different years since
their establishment, showed  an  increase  in  the number
of the schools in a much greater ratio than  that of the
population, and a rapid and substantial improvement in
their condition, and in the public estimation and interest.
"If these results," he observes, "were the only evidence of a beneficial
operation in the system of Common Schools provided by law, they would be
sufficient to establish the public confidence in the policy of that system, and
to secure it a permanent duration. But it is well known that it has produced other results, not less in magnitude or merit. It has secured our
schools against the admission of unqualified teachers, by requiring them to
submit to examination before a public board of inspectors, and to obtain
from them a certificate of approbation before they can legally be employed.
It has imparted to Common Schools a new and more respectable character,
by making them a subject of legal notice, and investing them with powers
to regulate their own concerns. It has corrected many evils in their discipline and government, not only by excluding unqualified teachers, but by
subjecting them and their course of studies to the frequent inspection of public officers. It has founded schools in places where, by conflicting interests,
or want of concert in the inhabitants, none had been before established; and
it has, by its pecuniary aid, enabled many indigent children to receive the
benefits of education, which would not otherwise have been within their
reach."
The  Superintendent renewed  his recommendation  of
the  preceding  year for a revision and  consolidation of
the  several  enactments  relating  to  Common  Schools,
and  for such amendments  and  alterations as experience
had  shown  to  be required.   His  suggestions in  these
respects  were  carefully  considered  by the  Legislature.
A  bill for that purpose  was introduced, and  so  great
was the public confidence in  Mr. HAWLEY, that during
its discussion in the Assemibly, he was invited to take
a seat within the hall, and to make such verbal explanations of the objects he had in view  in their several de3




34              COMMION SCHOOL SYSTEM.
tails, as he might deem  expedient, or the House might
require.*  His views were ably and zealously sustained
in the progress of the discussion, by Gen. ROOT, one of
the leading and most influential members; and on the
19th of April, having passed both branches, were embodied in the act of that date. Its publication was accompanied by a full exposition of its various provisions
and forms for the several proceedings required by the
Superintendent.
The returns of the ensuing year (1820) were much
more full and satisfactory than any previously received.
In 515 towns there were 5,763 schools, from  5,118 of
which reports had been duly made, showing 271,877
children under instruction during the preceding  year,
out of 302,703 of the requisite age.  The report for
1821-the last made by him-showed in 545 towns, 6,323
districts, fromI   5,489 of which  returns had  been  received; and that of 317,633 children between the ages
of five and fifteen, 304,549 had been taught during the
years reported.  In about one-half of the towns of the
State, the number taught exceeded the number between
five and fifteen; and taking the whole State together,
was more than  nineteen-twentieths of that number.
The average length of time during the year, in which
schools were kept open, had also increased in about
the same ratio as the  number taught, and there was
reason to believe that the number of children not attending any school, or not otherwise under instruction,
was very small. The public money was sufficient to defray the expenses of most of the schools for about three
months in each year; and in most districts poor children were permitted to attend the school free of expense, their tuition being charged, under a provision in
* Hammond's Political History of New York, I, 491.




SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.            35
the law, upon the tax-paying inhabitants.  "The readiness with which such permission has been generally
granted, wherever it has been deserved," observes the
Superintendent, "is very creditable to the public spirit
and liberality of the inhabitants of school districts.
From these circumstances it is considered warrantable
to infer, in connection with the friendly disposition
everywhere manifested in the cause of education, that
of the rising generation of this State, very few individuals will arrive to maturity without the enjoyment
and protection of a common education."  The whole
amount of public money received  by the several districts during the year reported (1820) was $206,348; of
which $59,930 was contributed from  the State Treasury-an equal amount raised by tax upon the several
towns, by the Board of Supervisors; and the residue
received from  the  avails of local funds, specifically
appropriated to Common School purposes. The amounts
contributed by rate bills, from those sending to schools
after the expenditure of the public moneys, do not appear from the reports at this period.
To no individual in the State are the friends of
Common School Education more deeply indebted, for
the impulse given to the cause in its infancy, than to
GIDEON HAWLEY.  At a period when every thing depended upon organization, upon supervision, upon practical acquaintance  with the most minute details  of
the system, and upon a patient, persevering, laborious
process of exposition-he united in himself all the requisites for the efficient discharge of the high functions
devolved upon him  by the Legislature.  From a state
of anarchy and confusion and complete disorganization,
within a period of less than eight years, arose, chiefly
through his exertions and abilities, a compact and stately




36              COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
fabric, based upon the most impregnable foundations,
sustained by an enlightened public sentiment, fortified
by the best and most enduring affections of the people,
and cherished as the safeguard of the State-the true
palladium of its greatness and prosperity. Within this
brief period, the number of school districts had doubled,
and the proportion of children annually participating
in the  blessings of elementary instruction increased
from  140,000 to 304,000, and from  four-fifths to nineteen-twentieths of the whole number of suitable age
residing in the State.  In view  of the disadvantages
under which every new  and untried  system  must, of
necessity, labor before it can be commended to general
adoption, and of the  immense  variety  of interests
which were, to  a greater or less extent, affected by
the stringent provisions of the act of 1812 and its subsequent amendments, we can  scarcely fail to be surprised  at the  magnitude of the results which  developed themselves under the administration of Mr. HAWLEY.  The foundations of a noble and permanent system  of popular education were strongly and securely
laid, and we are now, after the lapse of half a century,
witnessing  the  magnificent superstructure which  has
been gradually upbuilt on those foundations.
His removal from  office, on purely political grounds,
by the last Council of Appointment, prior to the abolition of that body by the Constitution of 1821, excited
the strongest indignation in the public mind, without
distinction of party.  Judge HAMMOND, in his Political
History, thus indignantly characterizes this transaction
and its consequences:
"But there is one act of this Council, which, in my judgment, admits
of no reasonable apology-the removal of GIDEON HAWLEY from the office
of Superintendent of Common Schools. Mr. HAWLEY had, by great skill




SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.                       37
and labor, formed our Common School system. All who know him, and
he is now and was then generally known, admit not only his fitness, but
his peculiar fitness, for that office. On the able and faithful discharge of
his duties depended not the temporary success of this or that party, but,
in a considerable degree, the weal or woe of the rising generation. The
Council removed him  and appointed in his place Welcome Esleeck, Esq., a
mere collecting attorney, who had scarce any of the requisite qualifications
of a Superintendent of Schools. So gross was this outrage that the political
friends of the Council in the Legislature would not submit to it. Gen.
ROOT, soon after the appointment of Mr. Esleeck, for, as was well understood, the mere purpose of getting rid of him, introduced a bill, or attached
a clause to some bill on its passage in the Assembly, enacting that the
Secretary of State, should, ex officio, be the Superintendent of Common
Schools, which soon passed through both houses with acclamation." *
* Hammond's Political History of New York, Vol. I., 570-71.




SECTION II. —ADMINISTRATION OF SECRETARY JOHN VAN NESS
YATES-182I TO 1826.
Constitutional Provision of a Permanent Common School Fund.-Progress
of the System.-School Celebrations.-The New York Free School
Society.-Controversy with the Religious Societies.-Decision of the
Common Council.
A   T the period of the transfer, by the Legislature, of
the duties imposed  upon  the Superintendent of
Common Schools to the Secretary of State, that office
was filled by JoHn  VAN NESS YATES, of Albany, a gentleman of cultivated literary taste, superior talents, industrious habits, and extended popularity.  He entered
upon the  discharge of the new  duties devolved upon
him  contemporaneously with the organic change in the
Constitution, made by the State Convention of 1821. By
the provisions of that instrument, the proceeds of all
lands thereafter to be sold, belonging to the State, with
the exception of such as might be reserved for public
use, or ceded to the United States, together with the
existing  school fund, were declared  to  constitute  "A
PERPETUAL FUND, the interest of which shall be INVIOLABLY APPROPRIATED AND APPLIED TO THE SUPPORT OF
COMMON SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT THE STATE."  This solemn consecration of the fiued to its legitimate purposes
alone still remains a portion of the fundamental law of
the State.
In his speech at the opening of the Legislature of
1822, the Governor (DE WITT CLINTON) thus referred to
the condition of the system  of public instruction:
"The excellent direction which has been given to the public bounty,
in appropriations for Common Schools, academies, and colleges, is very




SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.                        39
perceptible in the multiplication of our seminaries of education, in the
increase of the number of students, and in the acquisition of able and skillful teachers. The Lancasterian, or monitorial, system is making its way
in the community by force of its transcendent merits. Our Common Schools
have flourished beyond all former example.
" I am happy to have it in my power to say that this State has always
evinced a liberal spirit in the promotion of education; and I am persuaded
that no considerations short of total inability will ever prevent similar
demonstrations. The first duty of a State is to render its citizens virtuous,
by intellectual instruction and moral discipline -by enlightening their
minds, purifying their hearts, and teaching them  their rights and their
obligations. Those solid and enduring honors which arise from the cultivation of science, and the acquisition and diffusion of knowledge, will outlive the renown of the statesman and the glory of the warrior; and if any
stimulus were wanting in a cause so worthy of all our attention and patronage, we may find it in the example before our eyes, of the author of the
Declaration of Independence, who has devoted the evening of his illustrious
life to the establishment of a university in his native State."
The  Governor also  transmitted, in  this  connection,
the proceedings of  several  State  Legislatures, recommending  the appropriation of a portion of the National
domain to  the purposes of education in the old as well
as new  States and Territories; expressing his clear conviction of the justice and policy of such a measure, and
his high appreciation  of its importance and value.
From  the first annual report of the Acting Superintendent (J. V. N. YATES, Secretary of State), it appeared
that the whole number of school districts in the State
was 6,865, from  5,882 of which reports had been received
in accordance with law; that the whole number of children, between the ages of five and  sixteen, residing  in
the State during the preceding year, was 380,000; and
the total number of all ages taught during  an average
period of eight months during the year was 342,479.
Several amendments  in  the  details  of the  system,
suggested by the Superintendent, were adopted  by the
Legislature during its session; including a provision investing  the  Superintendent with  appellate  jurisdiction




40              COMM3ON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
over all the controversies arising under the School laws,
and declaring his decision thereon final.
The annual appropriations from  the funds of the
State at this period were fixed, by the Act of 1819, at
880,000. The principal of these funds consisted of the
Loan of 1792, then amounting to $500,000; that of 1808,
amounting to $449,000; stock in the Merchants' Bank of
the city of New York of the par value of $180,000, yielding an annual dividend of nine per cent.; one-half of
the quit-rents, estimated at $100,000; and about 87,000
from  the fees of the Supreme Court-amounting in all
to $1,236,000.
The report for the year 1822, submitted to the Legislature in February, 1823, showed:
1. That all the counties of the State, fifty-two in
number, comprising 649 towns and wards, and 6,255 of
the 7,051 districts, had duly forwarded returns in accordance with law; and
2. That 351,173 out of 357,000 children had been instructed during an average period of eight months during the year reported, being an excess of 18,194 over
the preceding year.
The Superintendent adds: "Even  in  Connecticut,
which possesses a larger school fund than we do, and
where the school system  was established, and in successful operation, long before it was here introduced,
the number of children educated in Common Schools is
far less in proportion to its population than it is in this
State." IHe complains of the absence of uniformity in
the course of studies pursued, and the text-books in
use, and of the embarrassments to which parents are subjected in' selecting suitable books from the great variety
offered, by the authors and compilers, for their use;
and refers the remedy to the wisdom of the Legislature.




SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.                      41
During  the  ensuing  year (1823), three  hundred  and
thirty-one  new   districts  had  been  formed,  in  which
400,500 children  were instructed  for an  average  period
of eight months; exceeding  by  26,000 the number instructed during the preceding year, and the whole number between five and sixteen residing in the State.  The
sum  of $182,802.25 of public money had been  expended
in the payment of the wages of duly qualified teachers;
to which amount had been added, according to the estimate of the Superintendent, 8150,000 from  the avails of
local funds, and the private contributions of individuals
on  rate bills  and  otherwise; making  a grand  total of
upward  of four hundred  and  thirty  thousand  dollars.
"These  facts,"  he  observes,  "require  no  comment.
They  demonstrate  the  signal  success  which  has  attended  the  exertions made, from  time  to  time, by  the
Legislature,  to  disseminate  useful  knowledge  among
every  class of the  community."  HIe also  recommends
the establishment of schools in  cities and  villages exclusively for colored children; and concludes as follows:
" The funds provided and secured by the Constitution for the support of
Common Schools have become only in part productive. By far the largest
portion is still inactive, and must continue so until advantageous sales can
be made of nearly a million acres of land appropriated for that object. It
is not extravagant to predict that, when that period shall arrive, the anticipations of the patriot and philanthropist, with regard to the still more extensive operation of our school system, and its favorable effects upon the
condition of society, will be fully realized. Indeed, what has education not
already effected! It has given man dominion not only over the elements, but
it has enlarged his capacity and faculties beyond the sphere in which he
moves. It has shown him that intellectual wealth is national wealth, and
that it lies at the foundation of all that is useful in the arts; that its influence extends to the narrower path of private virtue and daily duty; and
that, while it strengthens the tie between parent and child, husband and
wife, citizen and citizen, it secures from the rude and withering hand of
oppression, and from the, iron grasp of despotism, those valuable institutions
of government which it is no less the pride than it is the duty of freemen
to maintain pure and inviolate. Common Schools, supported by law, and




42                   CO3MMON  SCHOOL  SYSTEM.
open alike to the poor and to the rich, together with the higher seminaries
of learning, are those monuments which render the glory of a nation imperishable. And while this State is engaged in the great works of canals,
and other internal improvements, she shows the boundless extent of her
resources, and the energies of her character, by supporting, at the same time,
upon a basis equally broad and enduring, a plan of education unequaled
in its operations and effects by that of any other country in the civilized
world."
In  August of  the  ensuing  year, 1824, the  Superintendent issued  a  circular recommending  School Celebrations in  the several towns of the  State, from  which  the
following are extracts:
" The object in view is extremely important, for it is addressed as well to
the affections of the parent as the feelings and interests of the citizens. The
happiness of society and the freedom of our country mainly depend upon
the general diffusion of knowledge; and it is our duty to devise the best
means for attaining and securing that very desirable end. In a few years the
children that now sit upon our knees, or play around the room, will fill our
places, and become the future legislators, magistrates, and judges of our
country, while we are silently descending to the tomb. How consoling will
then be the reflection that these objects of our affection are about to realize
our fondest hopes, and do honor to our memories! Even now, when we hear
recounted the sage deliberations of the statesman, or the gallant achievements
of the warrior, or the brilliant and still more useful attainments of the
scholar, or the sacred and impressive eloquence of the divine, or the profound arguments of the lawyer, or the useful inventions and experiments of
the philosopher, farmer, and mechanic, do not our bosoms burn with admiration, and do not the eyes and hearts of each of us exclaim,  Would that he
were my son!' If, then, these are the delightful emotions excited in us from
the mere relation of the grand effects which knowledge and virtue produce,
can we refuse yielding our best exertions to realize them in the persons of our
children? The means, under Providence, are fully within our power, and
painful will be our reflections if we neglect them.
"The plan suggested for the improvement of our Common Schools-by
instituting celebrations-promises, I am convinced, far more beneficial and
important consequences than any other hitherto devised. The experiment is
neither doubtful nor difficult; and its benefits are cert:in, and their extent
beyond calculation. Indeed, when we see the flourishing condition of our
colleges and academies, and know that much is attributable to their public
anniversaries and commencements, why should we hesitate to believe that the
same means, when used in support of our Common Schools, will produce the
same end? And why, permit me to ask, should not our Common Schools be
pl4acld on a footing as respectable as any other seminaries of learning? Are




SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.                  43
they not as useful? And is not their influence more generally felt and
acknowledged? When we consider, also, the high character which our
Common Schools have so deservedly maintained-when we find other States
and countries imitating their example and quoting their success-should we
not feel the strongest desire to render them still more worthy of this distinction, and still more useful to ourselves and to posterity? "
In the city of New York, the number of schools of
the Free School Society had increased to six, and were
in  a  very  flourishing  condition.   Under the  General
School Act of 1812, these  schools were  entitled to a
distributive share of the Common School Fund, in proportion to the average number of pupils under instruction; and, by a supplementary  act passed in the subsequent year, that portion of the fund received by the
city was directed  to  be apportioned  and  paid to  the
trustees of the  Free  School Society, the  trustees  or
treasurers of the Orphan Asylum  Society, the Economical School Society for the children of refugees from
the West Indies, the African Free School, "and of such
incorporated religious societies in said city, as supported
or should establish Charity Schools, who might apply for
the same;" such distribution to be in proportion to the
number of pupils on register.  Under the provisions of
this act, several religious bodies established schools, and
participated in the funds-including the Bethel Baptist
Church in Delancey street, St. Patrick's, St. Peter's, and
other Roman  Catholic  Churches, the  Roman Catholic
Benevolent Society, several Methodist, Episcopal, Dutch
Reformed, and Baptist Churches, the German Lutheran,
and Scotch Presbyterian.
In 1822, the  Bethel Baptist Church, through  their
pastor, the Rev. Jonathan Chase, obtained from  the Legislature the passage of an act authorizing the trustees
to expend any surplus of their funds, beyond the payment of teachers' wages, in the erection and maintenance




44              COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
of additional schools-a power previously conferred upon
the Free School Society.  They accordingly opened a
second, and soon afterward a third, school under this
authority; and other religious bodies prepared to follow
their example. The Free School Society became alarmed
at the prospect of a serious diminution of their proportion of the fund by this activity of the Baptist, Episcopal, and Dutch Churches; and a warm controversy ensued.  On the one hand, it was alleged that the Free
School Society unjustly sought a monopoly of the education of the poor children of the city, and in the public
fund apportioned for that purpose, and that the different religious societies which had established and were
supporting such schools were equally entitled by law to
those privileges; while on the other, it was answered
that if such a monopoly as was pretended actually existed, it was one in which every citizen had a legal right
to participate, and that such general participation was
earnestly solicited and desired; that from the limited
amount of the school fund apportioned to the city, its
distribution among so many societies deprived it to a
great extent of its usefulness by rendering economy impossible; that the inevitable result must be a large nunber of poor schools and inefficient teachers; and that
adequate proof existed of the consequent perversion of
the funds, thus obtained by some of the religious bodies,
to purposes not contemplated by the act. The trustees
of the Free School Society, therefore, expressed their
readiness and desire to assist in procuring the passage
of a law rendering their property inalienably and sacredly
pledged for the avowed objects of their institution, and
placing the schools in their charge under the general
supervision of the Common Council, as the direct representative of the people.  The religious societies indig



SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.             45
nantly responded that buildings erected by them  for
school purposes were no more liable or likely to be turned
to other and non-legitimate uses than were those of the
Free School Society itself.
A memorial was accordingly forwarded to the Legislature, in 1823, asking a modification of the act of the
preceding year, prohibiting the expenditure of any portion of the public money in the erection of additional
buildings, and for such an amendment of the act relative
to the distribution of the school fund in the city of New
York as should prevent any religious society from receiving any portion of the public money for any other
than the poor children of their respective congregations.
A resolution was adopted by the Legislature, toward the
close of the session, referring the memorial to the Superintendent of Common Schools, with directions to report
in detail, at the ensuing session, the expenditure of the
school money, and the manner of its appropriation by
the various societies entitled to a participation in the
fund.
The Superintendent, in his report, set forth, in substance, that some three hundred children had been induced
by various means to leave Free School No. 3, in Hudson
street, and attend Bethel School No. 3, in Vandam
street adjacent; that the reported register of the Bethel
Society Schools was 1,547, upon which the public money
was drawn, in- accordance with law, while the whole
number present on inspection was only 886; that in one
of its schools in which a register number of 450 was
returned, there were possible accommodations only for
300; that teachers had been employed at the cheapest
rates, although nominally at salaries equal to those paid
by the Free School Society-one teacher having testified
that he signed an agreement for a salary of $900, with




46              COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEAM.
the understanding that one-half of it was to be reimbursed
to Pastor Chase-another that he received $600 under a
similar agreement to refund $200, as a "donation"; that
by such means Mr. Chase and the Bethel Baptist Church
received  some  82,500; that the Lancasterian  System
which was adopted in these schools was brought into illdeserved repute by the shocking inefficiency of its management; tnd that by funds so accumulated a building
was in process of erection, the basement of which, only,
dark, gloomy and ill-ventilated, was destined for the use
of the school, while the upper portion, well finished and
properly lighted, was to be devoted to church purposes.
The report also stated that, in consequence of the successful operations of the Baptists, other religious societies
were preparing to follow their example.
The Free School Society renewed their memorial to
the Legislature of 1824, setting forth in addition that
having for years urged their pupils to attend Sabbath
Schools for religious instruction, they were pained to find
those schools now made the means and opportunity of
urging children to abandon the Free Schools altogether;
thus leading off large numbers of pupils, who in their
turn induced others to leave; and that in this manner
these sectarian schools, supported by the public money,
are made a most convenient means of proselyting. As
a conclusive test of the results of the moral training
given by their own schools, they assert that while in the
past eighteen years 20,000 children had been under instruction therein, one only had been traced to a criminal
court.  They alleged that "the primary object of denominational schools being not a literary, but a religious
sectarian education, the consequences of such training
are the inevitable sharpening of the lines dividing sects,
the systemIie ac sowling in the young mind of those germs




SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.           47
of conscientious antagonism which had so often ripenetd
into a harvest of blood, and the destruction of Common
Schools, the. only common ground on which the future
citizen of the Republic could from their childhood know
and respect each other. To do this at all was a grievous
evil; to do it at the expense of the public, whose future
harmony was thus, however remotely, imperiled, was an
offense against the fundamental principles of the Republic itself."    They asked, in conclusion, "that the
religious societies might be restricted to what was justly
deemed the obvious intention of the act providing for
their participation in the school fund," accompanying
their memorial with the draft of a bill, with the unanimous sanction  and approval of the City Corporation,
adopted after full examination and mature deliberation.
The Legislature surprised all parties by the passage
of an act transferring the local distribution of the fund
to the Common Council themselves, with full powers to
make such assignment as they might deema just and expedient.
The Common Council immediately referred the whole
subject to a special committee, whose deliberations were
protracted and public-the highest talent in the city
being represented on both sides. The Rev. Drs. WAINWRIGHT, lMATHEWS, MILNOR, and ONDERDONKK, of the
Episcopal and Dutch Church, and Pastor CHASE, of the
Baptist, were in attendance on behalf of the religious
societies, and the venerable Col. HENRY RUTGERS, PETER A. JAY, CADWALLADEDR D. COLDER, and STEPHEN
ALLEN, in behalf of the Free Schools. On the part of
the latter, it was urged that the intention of the Act
of 1813, granting a portion of the public funds to the
* Public Education in the city of New York.-By T. Boesea, pp. 100-106.




48              COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
churches, was solely to aid them  in the education of
their own poor children; that an extension of their
schools, interfering with those of the Free School Society, could never have been contemplated; that the
principles by which all legislation on this subject had
heretofore been guided were palpably infringed, n  a a
fund, designed for civil purposes exclusively, diverted to
the support of religous institutions, in contravention
of the spirit of the acknowledged principles of our Government, which had uniformly left religion to be sustained by voluntary contributions and the individual efforts and patronage of its own votaries. The committee,
" deeming the school fund of the State purely of a
civil character, designed for civil purposes, and that the
entrusting of it to religious or ecclesiastical bodies was
a violation of an elementary principle in the politics of
the State and country," reported adversely to the future
distribution of any portion of the school fund to the
schools of religious societies, and introduced an ordinance directing such distribution thereafter to be made
exclusively to the schools of the Free School Society,
Mechanics' Society, Orphan Asylum, and African Schools,
which was unanimously adopted. In the ensuing year,
a High School for males was opened, under the charge
of Dr. JoHi  GPRISCOMi and D. H. BARNES, and in 1826 a
similar institution for females was established.
The administration of the general system  of public
instruction, by Mr. YATES, was characterized by great
ability and success.  He united to eminent executive
talents and popular manners a lively zeal for the promotion of education  and the diffusion of knowledge
among the great body of the people.  His various reports exhibit an accurate practical knowledge of the
workings of the Common School system in all its de



SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.            49
partments; his decisions on the numerous controversies
and appeals which were brought before him were marked
by a sound discrimination; and his efforts for the improvement and advancement of the schools were earnest
and indefatigable.  In the midst of the varied and important duties devolved upon him, as the first administrative officer of the government, the interests and welfare of public education held a prominent place in his
regards; and the practical wisdom  of the Legislature,
under the peculiar exigency which had arisen, in transferring the supervision of the schools to the State Department, was amply vindicated by the result.




SECTION  III.-ADMINISTRATION  OF  SECRETARY  AZARIAH  C.
FLAGG-I826 TO  1833.
Fiews  and  Recommendations  of  Governor  Clinton.-Seminary for
the  Education  of  Teachers.-School Visitors.-County  Supervision.-Report of Hon. John  C. Spencer.-academical Education.-Text Books.-School Libraries.-Progress of the System,
and Increase of the Fund.-Public  School Society of the City
of New  York.-Its Operations, and Condition of its Schools.Abandonment of the Lancasterian System.-Infant and Primary
Schools.-Second Religious Controversy.-Its Results.
IN   his  annual  Message  to  the  Legislature,  at  the
opening  of  the  session  of  1826, the  Governor (DE
WITT  CLINTON) thus  eloquently  adverts  to  the  subject
of  Common   School  education,  the  vocation   of  the
teacher, and the necessity of a higher standard of qualification for the profession:
"The first duty of government, and the surest evidence of good government, is the encouragement of education. A general diffusion of knowledge
is the precursor and protector of republican institutions; and in it we must
confide, as the conservative power that will watch over our liberties, and
guard them  against fraud, intrigue, corruption, and violence.  In early
infancy, education may be usefully administered. In some parts of Great
Britain, infant schools have been successfully established, comprising children
from two to six years of age, uhose tempers, hearts, and minds are ameliorated, and whose indigent parents are enabled by these means to devote
themselves to labor without interruption  or uneasiness.  Our Common
Schools embrace children from five to sixteen years old, and continue to
increase and prosper. The appropriation for the school fund for the last
year was,80,670, and an equivalent sum is also raised by taxation in the
several counties and towns, and is also applied in the same way. The capital
fund is $1,333,000, which will be in a state of rapid augmentation from sales
of the public lands and other sources; and it is well ascertained that more
than 420,000 children have been taught in our Common Schools during the
last year.  The sun  distributed by the State is now too small, and the
general, fund. can well warrant an augmentation to $120,000 annually.




SECOND  PERIOD.-OR-GANIZATION.                      51'Our system of instruction, with all its numerous benefits, is still, however, susceptible of improvement. Ten years of the life of a child may now
be spent in a Common School. In two years, the elements of instruction
may be acquired, and the remaining eight years must either be spent in
repetition or in idleness, unless the teachers of Commor Schools are competent to instruct in the higher branches of knowledge.  The outlines of
geography, algebra, mineralogy agricultural chemistry, mechanical philosophy, surveying, geometry, astronomy, political economy, and ethics might be
communicated in that period of time by able preceptors, without essential
interference with the calls of domestic industry. The vocation of a teacher'
in its influence on the character and destiny of the rising and all future
generations, has either not been fully understood or duly estimated. It is,
or ought to be, ranked among the learned professions. With a full admission of the merits of several who now officiate in that capacity, still it must
be conceded that the information of many of the instructors of our Common
Schools does not extend beyond rudimental education; that our expanding
population requires constant accessions to their numbers; and that to realize
these views it is necessary that some new plan for obtaining able teachers
should be d evised. I therefore recommend a seminary for the education of teachers in the monitorial system of instruction and in those useful branches of knowledge which are proper to engraft on elementary attainments. A compliance
with this recommendation will have the most benign influence on individual
happiness and social prosperity.  To break down the barriers which poverty
has erected against the acquisition and dispensation of knowledge is to
restore the just equilibrium of society, and to perform a duty of indispensable and paramount obligation; and under this impression, I also recommend
that provision be made for the gratuitous education, in our superior seminaries, of indigent, talented, and meritorious youths.
"I consider the system of our Common Schools as the palladium of our
freedom; for no reasonable apprehension can be entertained of its subversion
as long as the great body of the people are enlightened by education. To
increase the funds, to extend the benefits, and to remedy the defects of this
excellent system  is worthy of your most deliberate attention. The officer
who now so ably presides over that department is prevented by his other
official duties from visiting our schools in person, nor is he indeed clothed
with this power. A visitorial authority, for the purpose of detecting abuses
in the application of the funds, of examining into the modes and plans of
instruction, and of suggesting improvements, would unquestionably be attended with the most propitious effects."
On the 4th of February, Mr. JOHN  C. SPENCER, from
the Literature  Committee  of the Senate, to which  this
portion  of  the  Message   of  the  Governor  had  been
referred,  submitted  a  lengthy  and  able  report,  from
which the following extracts will be found interesting:




52                   C 1COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
"The committee concur entirely in the sentiments expressed by the
Governor in relation to the importance of the vocation of a teacher, and to
the propriety of occupying the time of the young in the higher branches of
knowledge. The progress of improvement in the great business of education must necessarily be slow and gradual.  Our Common School system
is itself but of recent origin; and during the few years in which it has been
in operation, incalculable good has been effected, particularly in causing
the establishment of schools where none existed before, and where none
would have existed but for its provisions.  We cannot expect to make it at
once perfect; but must content ourselves with remedies for the most obvious and important defects as they are discovered. From the observation of
the committee, and from the best information they can obtain, they are persuaded that the greatest evils now existing in the system are the want of
competent teachers, and the indisposition of the trustees of districts to incur the expense of employing those who are competent when they can be
obtained. It is a lamentable fact that, from a mistaken economy, the cheapest teachers, whether male or female, and generally the latter, are employed
in many districts for three-fourths of the year, and a competent instructor
is provided only for one quarter, and sometimes not at all, during the year.
The State is thus made to contribute almost wholly to the support of
teachers. This is a perversion of the public bounty; and its effect on the
children, who ought to be provided with the means of instruction during
the year, is most disastrous; for those above five or six years old are thus
excluded from school three-fourths of their time, which must be spent in
mental idleness; and thus the most precious time for education is utterly
thrown away.  The present arrangement of the authority to license and
employ teachers contributes to this result. Teachers are licensed by town
inspectors, themselves generally and necessarily incompetent to determine
upon the qualifications of candidates, and willing to sanction such as the
trustees feel able or disposed to employ. This is essentially wrong; and
the State, which contributes so large a portion of the compensation of the
teacher, has a right to direct its application in such a way as to effect the
object of procuring useful instruction. The remedy must be found in the
organization of some local board vested with the authority of licensing
teachers and of revoking the license, and charged with a general superintendence of the schools within the prescribed limits.  The division of the
State into counties affords a convenient distribution of territoryfor this purpose;
and if it be made a condition of receiving the public donation, that teachers
thus authorized shall have been employed for a portion of the year, it is believed that the sure and inevitable consequence would be the employment
of instructors much more competent than the average of the present teachers.  In those counties where the population is small and scattered, the
standard of competency will necessarily be low; but it will advance with
the means of the districts, and with the prosperity and intelligence of the
counties.  In other counties, where candidates were more numerous, the
qualifications would be higher.   The teachers would become, emphatically,




SECOND  PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.                         53
a profession; more would devote themselves to it as a means of livelihood,
and would prepare themselves accordingly. Such is an outline of the first
efforts, which, in the opinion of the committee, should be made to obtain
able teachers.
"The next object is to provide the means of qualifying the necessary
number of teachers. By the report of the Superintendent, made in January, 1825, there were then in this State 7,642 school districts. That, then, is
the number of teachers now required; the best evidence that can be adduced to show that there must always be a sufficient demand for those who
are qualified. It is obvious that the suggestion of the Governor in his message, respecting the establishment of an institution especially for the purpose of educating teachers, will not answer the exigencies of the case. It
is entitled to much weight, however, as a means in cojunction with others, to
effect the object.  But in the view which the committee have taken, our
great reliance for nurseries of teachers must be placed in our colleges and academies.  If they do not answer this purpose they can be of very little use.
That they have not hitherto been more extensively useful in that respect
is owing to inherent defects in the system of studies pursued there.  When
the heads of our colleges are apprised of the great want of teachers, which
it is so completely in their power to relieve, if not to supply, it is but reasonable to expect that they will adopt a system by which young men, whose
pursuits do not require a knowledge of classics, may avgil themselves of
the talent and instruction in those institutions suited to their wants, without
being compelled also to receive that which they do not want, and for
which they have neither time nor money.
" Our academies, also, have failed to supply the want of teachers to the
extent which was within their power; although it is acknowledged that in
this respect they have been eminently useful.  But instead of being incited
to such efforts, they are rather restrained by the regulation adopted by the
Regents of the University for the distribution of the literary fund placed
at their disposal. The income of that fund is divided among the academies in proportion to the number of classical students in each, without reference to those who are pursuing the highest and most useful branches of
an English course. *  *  The committee are not disposed to censure the
Regents; they have merely followed the fashion of the times; and it is believed that they are themselves alive to the importance of extending the usefulness of the institutions under their care, by adapting them more to the
wants of the country and the spirit of the age. But if they should not be
willing to extend the benefits of the fund under their control beyond classical students, still it will be in the power of the Legislature, and within
the means of the State, to appropriate a capital sum that will yield a sufficient income to compensate for this inequality, and to place the English
students on the same footing with the others, and thus make it the interest of the academies to instruct them. And if this bounty be distributed in reference to the number of persons instructed at an academy,
who shall have been licensed as teachers of Common Schools by the pro



54                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
per board, it is believed the object of obtaining able instructors will soon be
accomplished.
"The committee have not been able to discover why, upon every principle of justice and of public policy, seminaries for the education of females in
the Ijgher branches of knorzledge should not participate, equally with those for
the instruction of males, in the public bounty.
"In connection with these, the committee admit that the establishment of a
separate institution for the sole purpose of prepariny teachers would be a most
valuable auxiliary. * * * They hesitate to recommend its adoption now,
chiefly because the other measures which they intend to submit, and which
they conceive to be more immediately necessary, will involve as much expense
as ought now to be incurred. But they fondly anticipate the time when the
means of the State will be commensurate with the public spirit of its Legislature, and when such an institution will be founded on a scale equal to our
wants and our resources."
It will be perceived, from   these  extracts, that the
statesmanlike conceptions of DE WITT CLINTON, and the
comprehensive  and perspicacious intellect of Mr. SPENCER, had, at this early period, clearly anticipated  those
great measures for  the  advancement of the  Common
School system  which were long afterward adopted, and,
in great part, through the exertions of the latter, in his
official capacity as head of the department.  The system
of county supervision, academical departments and normal schools for the  instruction  of teachers, and institutions for the higher education  of female pupils, are
here  distinctly  shadowed  forth,  although  many  years
were to elapse before their practical realization.
On the 14th of February, 1826, AzARIAH  C. FLAGG,
of the  county  of Clinton, was appointed  Secretary  of
State, and  the  administration  of the  Common  School
system  devolved  upon  him, ex officio.   Mr. FLAGG  had,
for. several years, ably represented his county in the
Legislature, where he had distinguished  himself for his
ability and capacity as a political leader.  HIe was a man
of genial manners, shrewd sense, and quick discernment
of character; of rigid and uncompromising integrity, and




SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.             5
well adapted, in all respects, to secure the entire confidence of the community in the clearness of his judgment, the honesty of his motives, and the rectitude of
his decisions. At the close of his official term, he was
promoted to the office of Comptroller, the duties of
which he continued, for many years, to discharge with
characteristic ability and fidelity, and from  whence he
was transferred to a similar department in the city of
New York, where he still continues to reside, at a ripe
old age, not indeed exempt from some of the severe "ills
which life is heir to," but honored, respected, and beloved
by all who know him. His hearty, ringing, cheerful laugh;
his inexhaustible fund of anecdote and happy repartee;
and his stern and inexorable rebuke of every species of
public extravagance, dishonesty, or fraud, will long be
remembered. in the halls and corridors of the capital and
the metropolis.
His first annual report, as Superintendent, was transmitted to the Legislature on the 13th of March, showing
a gratifying increase in the number of school districts
and of pupils. He fully concurred with the recommendations of the Governor and the Literature Committee of
the Senate in reference to the necessity of providing
greater facilities for the preparation and instruction of
teachers, and offering additional inducements for their
employment in the several districts.
In January, of this year, the title of the "Free School
Society of the City of New York" was changed by the
Legislature, on the application of the trustees, to that of
"The Public School Society;" and permission given to
receive pupils at low rates of payment, from twenty-five
cents to two dollars per quarter, according to the studies pursued-tuition having previously been wholly free.
The act went into operation on the 1st of May, and three




56                 COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
new  schools —Nos. 7, 8, and 9-were opened before the
close of the year, and the course of study remodeled and
extended to higher branches.  The Lancasterian or monitorial system of instruction was strictly adhered to; and
an application to the trustees for the appointment of an
assistant teacher in  the  respective  schools indignantly
rejected, as "abandoning the principle of the beautiful
system" so productive hitherto of beneficial results.  Two
additional and  permanent monitors were, however, assigned to each department, with a small salary: and so
unpopular was the "pay system," and so difficult of execution, from the refusal of parents to pay or to send
their children to the schools-nearly one-third of the attendance having fallen off-that the trustees were compelled, at first, to  reduce the rates one-half, and  soon
afterward, in  1832, to  abandon  them  entirely, and  declare the schools thenceforward wholly free —a character
they have ever since maintained.
Gov. CLINTON, at the opening of the session of 1827,
again reverted to the subject of education in the following terms:
" The great bulwark of Republican Government is the cultivation of education; for the right of suffrage can not be exercised in a salutary manner
without intelligence. We may safely estimate the number of our Common
Schools at 8,000; the number of children taught during the last year, for an
average period of eight months, at 480,000; and the sum expended in education at $200,000. It is, however, too palpable that our system is surrounded by imperfections which demand the wise consideration and improving interposition of the Legislature. In the first place, there is no provision
made for the education of competent instructors. Of the eight thousand
now employed in this State, too many are destitute of the requisite qualifications, and perhaps no considerable number are able to teach beyond rudimental instruction. 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 education ought to be raised; and a central school, on the
monitorial plan, ought to be established in each county, for the education of




SECOND PERIOD. ORGANIZATION.                        5T
teachers, and as exemplars for other momentous purposes connected with
the improvement of the human mind. Small and suitable collections of books
and maps attached to our common schools, and periodical examinations to test the
proficiency of the scholars and merits of the teachers, are worthy of attention.
When it is understood that objects of this description enter into the very
formation of our characters, control our destinies through life, protect the
freedom and advance the glory of our country; and when it is considered
that seminaries for general education are either not provided in the Old
World, or but imperfectly supplied by charity and Sunday schools, and that
this is the appropriate soil of liberty and education-let it be our pride, as it
is our duty, to spare no exertion and to shrink fiom no expense in the promotion of a cause consecrated by religion and enjoined by patriotism; nor
let us be regardless of ample encouragement of the higher institutions devoted to literature and science. Independently of their intrinsic merits and
their diffusive and enduring benefts in reference to their appropriate objects,
they have, in a special manner, a most auspicious influence on all subordinate
institutions. They give to society men of improved and enlarged minds,
who, feeling the importance of information in their own experience, will
naturally cherish an ardent desire to extend its blessings. Science delights
in expansion as well as in concentration; and, after having flourished within
the precincts of academies and universities, will spread itself over the land,
enlightening society and ameliorating the condition of man. The more elevated the tree of knowledge, and the more expanded its branches, the greater
will be its trunk and the deeper its root."
Mr. FLAG G, in his annual report, as Superintendent,
for this year, suggested that "the system of inspection
might  be  improved   by  the  appointment of  competent
persons to visit  the  schools of a county  or a larger  district, to  investigate  the mode of instruction, the qualifications of teachers, and the application of the public
money, and  to  inquire  into  all the  operations  of the
school system.   Such  inspectors would  aid the schools
by  their advice, and  add  to  the  stock  of intelligence
on  the  subject of  education, by  collecting  information
in  relation  to  the  condition  of  the  schools  and  the
manner in which they are conducted; and these inspections would  be  the  means  of more  effectually  ascertaining   vhat  the  Common   Schools  now   effect,  and
what they  may. be made  to  accomplish."   Ile recom



58              COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
mends also the establishment of schools in the several
counties for the education  of teachers, the gradual
introduction  throughout the schools of the State of
the system  of mutual instruction, the improvement of
the system of female education, and the judicious selection, by State authority, of suitable text-books for the
several schools.  "The  course  of instruction in the
Common Schools," he observes, "ought to be adapted to
the business of life, and to the actual duties which may
devolve upon  the person instructed.  In  a government
where every citizen has a voice in deciding the most
important questions, it is not only necessary that every
person should be able to read and write, but that he
should be well instructed in the rights, privileges, and
duties of a citizen.  INSTRUCTION  SHOULD BE CO-EXTENSIVE WITH UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE.'
An additional sum of $100,000 was this year apportioned by the Superintendent among the several school
districts, in accordance with an appropriation made by
the Legislature of 1826.
On  the 21st of February, Mr. SPENCER, from  the
Literature Committee of the Senate, reported a bill "to
provide permanent funds for the annual appropriation
to Common Schools, to increase the literature fund, and
to  promote the education  of teachers," which, with
some slight amendments, was passed into a law on the
13th of April following. This Act transferred from the
general fund to the Common School Fund the balance
due on the loan of 1786, together with $100,000 of the
bank stock belonging to the State; and to the literature fund, from  the canal fund, the sum  of $150,000,
the income of which, together with that of the $95,000
previously belonging to the fund, was required to be
annually distributed by the Regents of, the University




SECOND  PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.                       59
among  the  incorporated  academies  and  seminaries  of
the  State, other  than  colleges,  in  proportion  to  the
number  of  pupils  instructed  in  each  for  six  months
during  the  preceding  year, "who  shall have  pursued
classical studies, or the higher branches of English  education, or both."   Accompanying  the  bill was an  able
report, from  which  the  following  extracts  are  taken,
indicative  of  the views of the  committee  on  the  subject of the suitable education  of teachers:
" In vain will you have established a system of instruction —in vain will
you appropriate money to educate the children of the poor, if you do not
provide persons competent to execute your system, and to teach the pupils
collected in the schools. The message of the Governor and the report of
the Superintendent concur in pressing this subject upon our attention with
the most anxious solicitude; and every citizen who has paid attention to it,
and become acquainted practically with the situation of our schools, knows
that the incompetency of the great mass of teachers is a radical defect which
impedes the whole system, frustrates the benevolent design of the Legislature
and defeats the hopes and wishes of all who feel an interest in disseminating
the blessings of education. There are 8,114 organized school districts in
the State; and if there be added the schools in the city of New York, in
Albany, Troy, and Hudson, not included in the returns, and the private
schools which are established in almost every county, we shall be justified in
estimating the number of teachers required to carry on the business of instruction at not far from ten thousand. From what sources can this supply
of teachers be obtained? and how can the great body of this multitude be
rendered competent to their stations?  In a free government, resting upon
the intelligence of its citizens, these questions are of vital importance.
" The Governor has recommended the establishment of central schools,
upon the monitorial plan, for the instruction of teachers. From the best consideration the committee have been able to bestow upon the subject, and from
all the information they can collect, a doubt is entertained whether tlhe monitorial plan is adapted to small schools in the country, or to the higher branches of
education. The means of instruction in the ordinary mode must be provided. The colleges and academies ought to furnish competent instructors;
and. indeed, to them we are indebted, but chiefly to the academies, for the
qualified instructors now employed. While academies are instituted, and by
proper encouragement may supply our wants, the committee would doubt
the policy of establishing central schools in their vicinity, which would
necessarily divert from them much of their present support."
After referring to the location of the several acad



c0                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
emies  in  different  sections  of  the   State, and  theirl
consequent  capability  of  meeting  the  wants  of  the
community —few  portions  of the  State  not being  adequately  supplied  with  these  institutions, provided  they
were  properly  supported  and  encouraged-the  report
proceeds to specify the proposed alteration in the distribution  of  the literature  fund, the  object being  " to
promote the education  of young mewn in those studies which
will prepare  them   for  the business  of  instruction, which
it is hoped  may  be  accomplished  to  some  extent by
offering  inducements  to  the trustees  of  academies to
educate  pupils  of  that  description;"   and  concludes
with  the  following  eloquent and powerful appeal:
"These are the considerations which have guided the committee in preparing the bill now presented. They have only further to say, that if any
confidence can be reposed in the official communications of those officers of
the Government whose duty it is to give the Legislature information on this
subject-if the concurring testimony of all who have spoken or written concerning it can be relied upon, there is a radical, deep, and extensive defect
in our Common School system, which deprives it of much of its value; and
that defect consists in the want of competent instructors. From six to ten
years of the most valuable portion of human life-of that very period when
instruction is most easily imparted, and most firmly retained-is absolutely
wasted and thrown away. Every one in the least acquainted with the subject knows that a boy under proper instruction can and ought to know as
much at seven or eight years old as be acquires under the present system at
fourteen or sixteen. Having undertaken a system of public instruction, it is
the solemn duty of the Legislature to make that system as perfect as possible. We have no right to trifle with the funds of our constituents, by applying them in a mode which fails to attain the intended object.  Competent
teachers of Conmmon Schools must be provided; the academies of the State
furnish the means of making that provision. There are funds which may
be safely and properly applied to that object; and if there were none, a more
just, patriotic, and, in its true sense, popular reason for taxation cannot be
urged. Let us aid the efforts of meritorious citizens, who have devoted large
portions of their means to the rearing of academies; let us reward them, by
giving success to their efforts; let us sustain seminaries that are falling into
decay; let us revive the drooping, and animate the prosperous, by the cheering rays of public beneficence; and thus let us provide nurseries for the
education of our children, and for the instruction of teachers who will
expand, and widen, and deepen the great stream of education, until it shall




SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.                        61
reach our remotest borders, and prepare our posterity for the maintenance
of the glory and prosperity of their country! "
Governor CLINTON, in his last message, at the opening  of the  session  of 1828-one month  only  preceding
his death —again directs the attention of the Legislature  to  his favorite  theme, with  a perceptible  tone  of
melancholy disappointment:
" That part of the Revised Laws relative to Common Schools is operative
on this day, and presents the system in an intelligible shape, but without
those improvements which are requisite to raise the standard of instruction, to
enlarge its objects, and to elevate the talents and qualifications of the teachers.
It is understood that Massachusetts has provided for these important cases;
but whether the experiment has as yet been attended with promising results
is not distinctly known. It may, however, be taken for granted that the
education of the body of the people can never attain the requisite perfection
without competent instructors, well acquainted with the outlines of literature and the elements of science. And after the scale of education is elevated
in Common Schools, more exalted improvements ought to be engrafted into
academical studies, and proceed in a correspondent and progressive ascent
to our colleges.
" In the mean time, I cqisider it my duty to recommend a law authorizing the supervisors of each county to raise a sum not exceeding two thousand
dollars, provided the same sum is subscribed by individuals, for the erection
of a suitable edifice for a 3Monitoricl High School in the county town. I can
conceive of no reasonable objection to the adoption of a measure so well calculated to raise the character of our schoolmasters, and to double the powers
of our artisans, by giving them a scientific education."
Carrying our reflections back over a period embracing  nearly  a  quarter of a  century; viewing  this great
and  good  man as the leading  spirit in the  organization
and  establishment  of the  now   magnificent system   of
free public school instruction in the city of New York;
tracing his deep interest in its earliest efforts and in
the Lancasterian method of instruction, in the transcendent value  and importance  of which  his powerful intellect never for a moment wavered; following him  in his
long   executive   career  as  Governor  of  the  Empire
State, the  successful  founder and  executor  of  a vast




2'COMMION SCHOOL SYSTEM.
system   of  internal improvements,  the  wonder  and
admiration of the civilized world, and yet finding time
for the encouragement and building up, step by step,
of a still greater work-that of the education  of a
whole people; listening  to  his  eloquent appeals and
studying his masterly addresses and messages, covering
almost the  entire  ground of modern civilization  and
political statesmanship-where shall we find a nobler
theme  for  eulogy,  admiration,  reverence,  and  high
regard than the illustrious CLINTON?  Truly and most
emphatically may it be said of him
"Nothing can cover his high fame but heaven;
No pyramid set off his memories
But the eternal substance of his greatness!"
From  the annual report of the Superintendent, it
appeared that the number of children  under instruction in the several schools of the State during the year
1826 was 441,856, being an increase of 10,225 over the
preceding  year, and  of upwards of 300,000 over the
attendance of 1816.  The aggregate amount of public
money received and expended  by the several districts
in the payment of the wages of duly qualified teachers
was $222,995.77; of which $100,000 was paid from  the
State  treasury,  $110,542.32  raised  by tax  upon  the
several towns, and  $12,453.45 from  the proceeds of
Gospel and school lots and other local funds. The productive capital of the Common School Fund had been
increased during the year by the sum. of $256,121.50, by
various transfers from  other State  funds and by the
avails of the sales of State lands set apart for this
purpose.  The Superintendent recomlmended  the furnishing  of additional facilities  for  Common  School
instruction to children engaged in manufacturing estab



SECOND PERIOD. ORGANIZATION.            63
lishments, by the annual appropriation for their benefit
of a share of the public money, according to the nunmber of children instructed therein.
During the ensuing year, over twenty-six thousand
pupils were added to the Common Schools; and the
report for 1830 showed a further increase of about
twelve thousand.  The Superintendent adverts to the
"serious deficiency in the supply of competent teachers
as the great obstacle which it is necessary to remove
before we  can  reasonably expect to accomplish the
great results and confer the enduring benefits which
were anticipated by those who founded and those who
fostered our system  of Common School instruction."
He alludes with characteristic practical shrewdness to
the inefficiency of the remedy proposed for this pervading evil, in the absence of a proper spirit of liberality on the part of the inhabitants of the respective
districts themselves.  "Those who have turned their
attention to the subject of giving a higher character to
the Common Schools in this and other States," he observes, "have recommended the establishment of semi-i
naries for the exclusive education of teachers.  This,
would serve to multiply the  number of those who
would  be qualified to teach; but after being thus
qualified, at the public expense, what guaranty would
there be that such persons would follow the business of
teaching, unless they could be as liberally compensated
in a district school as in other pursuits of life? If the
inhabitants of the district were resolved to have none
other than teachers of the highest grade, and would
pay the highest premium for talent, our academies and
high  schools would  be thronged by persons fitting
themselves for the business of teaching; and all these
institutions would practically become schools for the




64              COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
education of teachers. If the districts could be induced
to give an adequate compensation and constant employment to  first-rate instructors, then  it would be eminently  useful to  establish  seminaries for the special
purpose of training persons as professional instructors.
* * * If the intelligent farmers in the districts would employ
a small share of their attention and practical common sense
on this subject, a revolution in the character of the schools
would soon be effected."  In regard to the multiplicity of
text-books in use in the several schools, he is of opinion  that the proposed  designation  of any particular
work or series, to the exclusion of others, would be
injudicious and  unwise.  "Great improvements,"  he
observes, "are constantly going on in the character of
school books; the greatest experience and much of the
best talent of the country are enlisted in this business;
and the fruits of their labors are constantly giving
them  new  claims to  the approbation of -the public.
The adoption of a particular book would amount to a
prohibition  upon  all improvements  and  subject the
inhabitants to a loss of the prohibited books on hand.
The interests of the Common Schools may be seriously injured
and cannot be essentially benefited by the adoption by law of
any book or set of books."s    He adds, however, "A
society has been established in England for the purpose
of imparting useful information to all classes of community, particularly  to  such  as are unable to  avail
themselves  of experienced  teachers.  To  effect this
object, treatises on the various sciences, and books of
practical utility, have been published at such moderate
prices as to bring them within the reach of all classes.
A  small sum  applied to  the publication and distribu* See also Assembly Document for 1830, No. 431, Yol. 4. Report of
Common School Committee.




SECOND PERIOD.-OREGANIZATIOTL.          G5
tion among  the  several school districts, of similar
works, would have the most favorable influence."  The
establishment of school district libraries at a subsequent period proved a more effectual realization of this
idea than the plan here indicated.
A  memorial was presented to the Legislature during
its session of this year from  a committee of the citizens of Rochester, consisting of the Rev. Dr. PENNY,
and Messrs. Comstock, Brown, War    d and Norton, asking for the establishment of a State seminary for the
education of teachers, and a central high  school in
each town, with an effective general and local supervision throughout the State. This  document was a
very elaborate and able  exposition  of the  soundest
theories and  practical details  of  elementary  public
instruction, and exerted a powerful influence in directing the attention of the friends of education throughout the State to the whole subject, and in preparing
the public mind for future  reforms in  the system.
It clearly indicated the direction in which the current
of popular opinion  was setting; shadowed  out the
principal improvements and prominent measures which
were afterward  adopted; recommended the establishment of three or more State normal schools for the
education and preparation of teachers; the organization
of central high schools of the most approved standard of excellence, so connected with all the others in
each town as to exert the most salutary and beneficial influence upon the general interests of education,
and to aid in the preparation of well-qualified  teachers; and the organization of such a system  of county  and town supervision, in relation to  and connection with that of the State, as should bind together
the entire system  in one harmonious whole, and infuse
5




66              COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
new life, activity and energy in all its parts.*  Owing
to the condition of the Common School Fund, at this
period, insuperable  objections existed to the adoption
of the comprehensive plan indicated by the memorialists; and it was reserved for a no very distant period
to carry out their well-considered  and timely suggestions.
Governor TiHOOP, in his annual message to the Legislature of 1831, briefly alluded to this great interest
of the State in the following terms:  "There is no
one of our public institutions of more importance or
which has better fulfilled public expectation than that
providing for instruction in Common Schools. Its imperfections may receive some correction from  legislation, yet more is to be hoped from  individual exertions to carry the design of the Legislature into effect
within the several districts."
The annual report of the  Superintendent showed
an  additional increase  of upwards of 19,000 in  the
number of pupils in the several schools over the preceding years, making the entire number under instruction  in 8,630 out of 9,000 districts about 500,000, a
number considerably  exceeding that of all the children between the ages of five and sixteen residing in
the districts. The  amount of public money  received
and expended was $239,713, which, in addition to  the
sum  contributed on rate-bills, $346,807, amounted to
$586,520 paid  for teachers' wages alone. The average
annual increase in the number of pupils during the past
eleven years was twenty thousand. The productive capital of the School Fund amounted, at this period, to
$1,696,743.66. After a full review of the various plans
proposed for the education of teachers, the Superintend* Legislative Documents, 1839, Vol. 4. No. 387.




SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION            67
ent recommends the conversion of the several academies, equal in number, at that time, to the counties of
the State, into seminaries for that purpose. " The State
has done much for these institutions," he says, "and
something in aid of the cause of the Common Schools
may reasonably be expected from them; and if the required information to fit a person for teaching can be obtained in them, sound policy and good economy are in
favor of relying upon them for this purpose."
On the question how far the expenses of supporting
and maintaining the Common Schools, and supplying
them  with competent teachers, may advantageously be
provided from the public treasury, and to what extent
they may safely and successfully be committed to the
inhabitants of the several districts, Mr. FLAGG compares the operation  of our system  in  this respect
with those of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and other States, in the two latter
of which the public funds were exclusively appropriated for the benefit of indigent children, while in
Connecticut they were lavished in indiscriminate profusion for the gratuitous instruction of all classes; and
observes: "Our system  is well calculated to awaken
the attention of all the inhabitants to the concerns of
the district school. The power given to district meetings to levy a tax, to  a limited  extent, upon the
property of the district, excites a direct interest with
all the taxable inhabitants to attend the district meetings, whether they have children requiring school accommodations or not. The wealthy are thus prompted
to act as trustees, and to watch over the concerns
of the district, in order to  see that its affairs are
conducted with care and economy; and miuch of the
intelligence of the district is put in requisition by the




68                 COMIMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
peculiarity  of our plan, which  might be wholly lost, if
the whole  expense  of the  tuition  was provided by  a
State  fund.  It has  been  urged  that the amount distributed  from  our fund  is too small, and  that  an  increase  of the  fund  would  of itself raise  the  standard
of the  Common School; but such  an  increase would be
much  more likely to decrease the contributions of individuals than  to  elevate  the  standard  of  education."  A
careful comparison of the official returns at this period
with those of from  ten to  twenty  years later vindicated
the judgment of  the Superintendent in  this respectshowing  a  falling off in  the  contributions  of  the inhabitants to  the  amount of over $250,000, less than a
proportionate share of the increase.
With  reference  to  the  proposed  uniformity  of textbooks, in  the  several schools,  the  Superintendent remarks:
"No man or set of men could make out a list of class-books for the instruction of half a million of scholars which would give general satisfaction; and there is great reason to believe that the experiment to produce
uniformity would do more harm than it promises to do good.  In view of
all the difficulties which surround the subject, the Superintendent believes
that it is best to leave the selection of class-books to the intelligence of the
inhabitants of the districts and towns."
" The immense importance of elevating the standard of education in the
Common Schools," the Superintendent observes in conclusion, " is strongly
enforced by the fact that to every ten persons receiving instruction in the
higher schools there are at least five hundred dependent upon the Common
Schools for their education.  In urging the importance of the latter, it is
not designed to depreciate the great utility of the former. In the discussions on the subject of popular education, it has, in some cases, been urged
that academies and high schools were injurious to the Common Schools
by withdrawing from their aid the patronage and care of those who are
able to send to the former schools.  There is nothing in our experience
which should enable us to look with disfavor upon the higher institutions;
and the patriot and philanthropist in estimating the means which are to contribute to the perpetuity of our happy form of government will regard all
our schools and seminaries as parts of the same useful and valuable system;from
the university to the infant school."




SECOND  PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.                        9
In his report for 1832, Mr. FLAGG  again  institutes a
comparison  between  our  system   of public  instruction
and those of the Eastern  States:
"The school system of New York," he observes, "has been formed by
combining the advantages of the different plans of supporting Common
Schools which prevail in the New England States. Connecticut has a large
fund which produces nearly or quite the whole amount paid for teachers'
wages, and has no local tax. Massachusetts and Maine have no public fund,
and the wages of teachers are provided by a town tax. Our system happily combines the principles of a State fund and a town tax.  Enough is apportioned from the State treasury to invite and encourage the co-operation
of the districts and towns, and not so much as to induce the inhabitants to
believe that they have nothing more to do than to hire a teacher to absorb
the public money. The tax authorized upon the property of the town and
district has a most salutary effect in awakening the attention of the inhabitants to the concerns of the Common Schools. The power of district meetings to raise money by tax induces the inhabitants to attend the meetings and
to overlook the interests and proceedings of the district, when if the whole
expense was provided by a State fund, they would allow the trustees to receive
and expend the money, as if it was a matter which did not interest the
great body of the inhabitants of the district.  Whatever differences of
opinion may exist as to the best mode of providing for the expense of giving instruction to all the children of the State, the success which has attended our system warrants the conclusion that a public fund may be made
eminently useful in organizing a system of universal instruction."
In  relation  to the  "vexed  question"  of text-books,
the Superintendent renews the expression of his opinion,
that  "the  adoption  of a particular set  of  text-books
could be of no advantage except to the favored authors
to  whom  the monopoly of supplying  the scholars should
be  given.  Toward  all other authors who  have devoted
their time and talents to the preparation of books, as
well as publishers who  have embarked their fortune  in
particular  works,  it would  operate  proscriptively  and
with manifest injustice."
From  the last annual report of Mr. Flagg, embracing
the operations of the year 1831, it appeared that the
number of school districts was 9,600, and the number of




TO               COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEI.
children instructed 494,959.  He again called the attention of the Legislature to the expediency of making
some suitable provision for the education of the children in the various nmanufactories in the State.   " The
policy of all our laws," he observes, " is to secure a good
Common School education to every child in the State;
and the condition of the children who are employed in
the manufactories, as to  their means of instruction,
ought to be carefully inquired into  and provided for.
The diffusion  of education among  all classes  of our
population  is deemed of such vital importance to the
preservation  of our free institutions, that if the obligations which rest upon every  good  citizen in  this
particular are disregarded, the persons having the custody of such children ought to be visited with such disabilities as will induce them  from interest, if not from
principle, to  cause  the  children  to  be instructed  at
least in reading, writing, and arithmetic.  Intelligence
has been regarded as the vital principle of a free goverment; and every parent, guardian or master who neglects or refuses to give the children under his charge the
advantages of a Common School educattiot-lparticularly in
cases where the instruction is offered  "without money and
without?price"-is as much ac  offender against the State
as the nman who refuses to perform any other duty which is
deemed essential to the preservation of our liberties."   A
generous and noble  sentiment!-admitting  of a more
extended  application  than  the one for which it was
more particularly designed. I regret to have been unable to find  any legislative response  to  this philanthropic appeal.
In  reviewing  the  administration  of the  Common
School system, by  Mr. FLAGG, during  a  period  of
seven years, extending  from  1826 to  1833, it is im



SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.             Tl
possible to withhold  the meed of high  approbation
for the eminent services rendered by him  at a most
critical period of its history. Under his auspices, the
number of school districts had increased from  7,773 to
9,600, the number of children instructed  from  425,586
to nearly 495,000 —a number almost equal to the entire population of the  State between the ages of five
and sixteen years-and the amount of public money
applicable to the payment of teachers' wages from
$182,790 to 8305,582.78.  The external organization and
internal details of the system  in all its parts  were
carefully  watched  over and  protected; complicated
questions of law  arising under the provisions of the
act and growing out of its local administration promptly adjudicated upon and settled; important and varied
propositions  for its modification, improvement, and
extension  examined and  discussed, with  that practical candor, shrewdness, and clear common sense which
so peculiarly distinguished his well-balanced mind; and
those equitable and legal principles established which
constituted the basis upon which his successors were
enabled to build up a series of judicial decisions commensurate with the vast extent of the system  in its
application to the numerous and perplexing details constantly requiring explanation  and  settlement.  While
steadfastly setting his face against the establishment of
State seminaries for the education of teachers, and the
adoption of a uniform series of text-books, and utterly
failing to grasp the conception  of free  schools supported by general taxation, he is nevertheless entitled
to a prominent place in the list of public benefactors
to the rising generation.
It now  becomes necessary again to revert to the
progress of the Public School system  in the city of




2              COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
New York. The Lancasterian or monitorial method of
instrucetion, so universally prevailing in the elementary
schools of the Public School Society, after the experience
of more than a quarter of a century, was now undergoing a sensible eclipse.  It will be recollected that the
Literature Committee of the Senate had, in 1827, through
their distinguished chairman, Mr. SPENCER, expressed
their strong doubt as to the adaptation of that system
to the schools of the rural districts, or to the higher
branches of education; and the gradual prevalence of
advanced processes in the course of instruction in the
Public Schools of the city of New York had insensibly
weakened the hold of the monitorial plan.  At about
this period, too, the rage for "Infant Schools" had been
imported from London and the continent; and early in
1827, an association of ladies, under the auspices of Mrs.
Joanna Bethune, was organized under the title of the
"Infant School Society," for the instruction of children
from two to six or seven years of age. Stimulated by
the success of this  experiment, the Public School
Society determined to detach from  the schools under
their charge  this class of children, and to organize
them  into a separate department in the basement of
School No. 8, to be known as the Primary Deartment,
and open to all children capable of admission under the
age of ten years. The schools of the Ladies' Association, hvwever, had wholly discarded the Laneasterian
system  of instruction, with all its books, black-boards,
and " sand-classes," and substituted in its stead pleasant and attractive songs for and with their pupils, a
variety of calisthenic exercises suitable for children,
and the oral teaching of familiar objects. These innovations were peculiarly obnoxious to the pioneer members and originators of the Society-many  of whom




SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.             3
were of the Society of Friends, and could not readily
be induced to tolerate the vain frivolities of music and
calisthenics. An infant department was, however, permitted to be established in the basement of School No.
10, under the counsel and direction of the Ladies Association, with a view to test the comparative excellence
of the rival systems. The report of the committee appointed by the Society to pass upon the question was
strongly in favor of the superiority of the new system
over the monitorial; the knell of the latter was tolled;
and before the grass upon the recent great champion
of Lancasterianismu had grown green, its reign was over
-its influence gone-its power forever departed!  Female teachers were admitted  into  the  schools; the
voice of music and the  exuberant prattle of joyous,
riotous infancy were heard-its irrepressible curiosity
aroused-its desire for knowledge stimulated and gratified —and the monitors, with their huge and cumbrous
books and complicated machinery, consigned "to the
tomb of the Capulets."
Let us not, however, be unjust to the merits of the
long triumphant and now  fallen system, or indifferent
to, or forgetful of, the great work it had accomplished
in the organization and success of the Common School
system. More  than a hundred thousand children, in
the city of New York alone, had been trained up under its influence and through its processes, during a
period of more than twenty-five years, to usefulness,
honesty, and virtue. In all the larger cities and towns
of the State, noble and stately edifices had been erected
for its use, and filled with its pupils; and the noblest,
grandest, loftiest intellect in the Commonwealth had
been a life-long worshiper at its shrine, and had, with
his dying breath, solemnly commended its perpetuation




74             COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
to the legislative councils of the State! Surely such a
system  is not to be condemned or dismissed without a
fair hearing, and for substantial and imperative reasons. It was a fair and stately tree of knowledge; its
branches budded, blossomed, and bore rich fruit; it
overshadowed the gardens of mental cultivation-and
our predecessors and ourselves have reaped the abundant harvests. Let, then, its memory be hallowed and
cherished, while the bones of LANCASTER and CLINTON
repose upon our soil! Its work an4d theirs are doneabiunt ad plures-but for us and for our latest posterity
their memory will be ever green!
The impending restoration of the free system of instruction in the schools of the Society rendered it necessary to invoke legislative aid for the increase of the
public funds applicable to their support. In 1831, the
Common Council were requested to apply for the imposition of a tax upon the city amounting to three-eightieths of one per cent. in addition to the equal sum
required to be added to the State apportionment. The
Council complied with  this request, interposing as a
condition, however, its own unrestricted power over the
expenditure of the fund-a representative body of commissioners, from the several wards of the city, having
been previously appointed by them  for its distribution.
An earnest remonstrance against this dangerous innovation, based upon its liability to partisan and sectarian abuse, was presented by the Public School Society; and, during the pendency of the controversy, the
flames of discord were rekindled by the application of
the Roman  Catholic Benevolent Society, in behalf of
the Orphan Asylum under its charge, and the Methodist Episcopal Church, in behalf of its Charity Schools,
for admission to a participation in the school moneys.




SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.           T5
The Trustees of the Public School Society promptly
interposed a remonstrance against this demand, alleging that the Roman Catholic Benevolent Society was a
close corporation, all of whose members were of the
Catholic religion-that the education given in the asylum was strictly sectarian-that its participation in the
School Fund  would  necessarily  involve  compulsory
contributions from  tax-payers conscientiously opposed
to such instruction-that the decision of the Common
Council in 1825, based as it was clearly and explicitly
on the principle that the Public School Money should
be exclusively consecrated to the purposes of secular
education, and should on no account be diverted to
sectarian uses, had been deemed on all hands a final
settlement of the question-that the mere fact of orphanage constituted no distinction between the claims
of the Catholic and other religious organizations, as
this class of children were provided for by all, and
each denomination possessed equal claims in this respect upon the public funds-that such an appropriation would lead to an extensive system  of religious
proselytism  at variance with public policy-and that
whatever claims the asylum  might possess to the generous sympathy and charitable support of the community, such benevolence should be exercised by private
individuals and through voluntary contributions, instead
of compulsory levies upon a common fund specifically
appropriated to a distinct object.
On the other hand, it was urged by the Catholic
claimants that their right to participate in the advantages of the school money was, at least, in every way
equal to that of the Protestant Orphan Asylum, which
had been admitted, under the decision and settlement




~6     ~ COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
referred to, to a distributive portion of the fund, and
had for many years enjoyed its benefits-that while this
institution was purely and distinctively Protestant in
its management, its instruction, and its usages, no
complaint had been made by any portion of the community, the Catholics included, against a provision so
obviously beneficent and proper-that they only claimed
to be placed upon a footing of just equality with their
Protestant brethren in this regard-and that while ample provision had been made for the general support,
clothing, maintenance, and care, in  sickness and in
health, of these otherwise friendless and destitute little
ones, by private and associated charity, their instruction was equally the duty of the State and city, with
that of others who had been officially recognized as
its beneficiaries. They, therefore, called upon the Common Council to see that these unquestionable rights
were no longer withheld.
These incontrovertible views were sustained by that
body, as in full accordance with the cardinal principles of the ordinance of 1825, recognizing the peculiar
claims of orphan asylums as a justifiable and the only
justifiable exception to the general principle that the
Public School moneys were applicable only to secular
instruction.  In conformity, however, with this general
principle, the petition of the Methodist Church was
denied; and the claim  of the Common Council to the
exclusive right of distribution of the School Fund of
the  city abandoned in favor of the Commissioners.
The Methodists immediately renewed their claim  in
behalf of the orphan children attending their Church
Schools; but the Common Council, by a unanimous
vote, decided that exceptions to the fundamental rule




SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.              77
of distribution could be allowed only in the case of those
who had no other home than an orphan asylum.*
Thus terminated the second of the great religious
controversies which agitated the citizens of New York
city, and which laid the foundation  of a re-organization of its system  of public instruction at a later period, without, however, disturbing the vital principle of
the inadmissibility of religious sectarian instruction, or
of the exclusive consecration of the Public School Fund
of the State and  city to  the legitimate purposes of
education.
* Public Education in the City of New York, 107-110.




SECTION  IV.-ADMINISTRATION OF SECRETARY JOHN  A. Dix1833 TO 1839Messages of Governor Marcy.-Reports  of the  Superintendent.academical Preparation  of  Teachers. —Text Books.-District
Libraries. —ames Wadsworth, of Geneseo.-Proposed Department of Puhlic Instruction.-Augmentation of the Common School
Fund.  United  States  Deposit Fund.   Its  Appropriation.Condition of the Schools.  Children in Manufactories.-Moral
and Religious Instruction.-The Bible and New  Testament in
the Schools.-Common School Decisions and Laws.
A T  the  opening  of the  Legislative  session  of 1833,
Governor MARCY, in  his message, thus alluded to
the  subject of Common  Schools:
" Of all our institutions, there is none which presents such strong claims
to the patronage of the Government as our system of Common Schools; and
it is gratifying to know that those claims have been recognized, and to a
very considerable extent satisfied. The wisdom and providence of our legislation appears, perhaps, nowhere so conspicuously as in the measures which
have been adopted and the means which have been provided for the general
diffusion of primary education among the children of all classes of our citizens. An active and adventurous spirit of improvement characterizes the
present age. Its best direction would be toward multiplying the facilities,
and consequently abridging the time and labor, of acquiring knowledge. I
indulge the hope that much may yet be done in this respect for primary
education. One of the most obvious improvements in relation to Common
Schools would be a plan for supplying t ithe with competent teachers. Under
present circumstances, the remedy of the evils resulting from the employment
of persons not properly qualified can only be applied by the trustees and
inspectors; and I am not apprised that any further direction for regulating
their duties in this respect could be usefully presented to the Legislature."
On the 15th day of January, 1833, JOHN  A. DIX, of
Albany, was appointed  Secretary of State and ex officio




SECOND PERIOD. - ORGANIZATION.          79
Superintendent of Common Schools. General Dix was
admirably adapted by his high character, eminent talents, and gentlemanly deportment, to the effective discharge of the responsible duties of his position. Educated at West Point, he was early in life attached to
the  military  family of Major-General  Brown-from
whence he was subsequently transferred to the office of
Adjutant-General of the State, a post which he occupied at the period of his election by the Legislature as
Secretary.
His first annual report as Superintendent was presented to the Legislature on the 8th of January, 1834,
comprehending the operations of the year 1832. There
were in the State 9,690 school districts, from  9,107 of
which reports had been received, in accordance with
law, and in which 512,475 children had been taught
during the year, out of 522,618, between five and sixteen, residing in the several districts-being an increase
of 17,500 over the preceding year. In reference to the
amount of the public funds provided for the support of
Common Schools, he expresses the opinion that the
sum  distributed among the several districts was amply
adequate to its object. "Experience in other States,"
he observes, "has proved what has been abundantly
confirmed by our own, that too large a sum  of public
money distributed among the Common Schools has no
salutary effect. Beyond a certain point, the voluntary
contributions of the inhabitants decline in amount with
almost uniform regularity, as the contributions from a
public fund increase. Should the general fund at any
future day be recruited, so as to admit of an augmentation of the capital or revenue of the Common School
Fund, or both, the policy of increasing the sum  annually distributed to  the  Common  Schools beyond an




80              COMIMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
amount which shall, when taken in connection with the
number of children annually taught in them, exceed
the  present rate of apportionment, would be in the
highest degree questionable."
With respect to the preparation of teachers for the
Common Schools, General Dix concurred generally in
the views of his predecessor: that the several academies
of the State, aided by liberal appropriations for this
purpose  from  the  literature  fund, would  be found
abundantly adequate to the accomplishment of the object in view; that the establishment of teachers' seminaries, devoted exclusively to this subject, would be
impracticable without at the same time requiring the
district to employ such teachers when prepared, and to
provide them  with an adequate compensation-neither
of which measures would, for a moment, be tolerated;
and that the demand on the part of the districts for
teachers of a higher degree of qualification will be met
by a corresponding supply from  the academies, whenever sufficient inducements are held out to the latter to
devote a large portion of their attention to the preparation of such teachers. An enlightened appreciation,
on the part of the inhabitants of districts generally, of
the functions and duties of teachers; a determination
to secure the highest order of ability, and to provide a
suitable compensation; and a disposition to elevate the
character and advance the social rank of the teacher,
by assigning -him  that station in the regards of the
community which is due to the dignity and utility of
his profession-these were regarded as indispensable prerequisites to the success of any system  which contemplates the specific preparation of teachers.
On the subject of the adoption of a uniform series
of text-books for the use of schools, he also adopts the




SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.            81
views of his predecessor, and discountenances such a
measure as impracticable and unjust.  In reference to
the establishment of district libraries, he says:
"If the inhabitants of school districts were authorized to levy a tax upon their property for the purpose
of purchasing libraries for the use of the district, such
a power might, with proper restrictions, become a most
efficient instrument for diffusing useful knowledge, and
in elevating the intellectual character of the people. A
vast amount of useful information might in this manner
be collected, where it would be easily accessible, and its
influence could hardly fail to be in the highest degree
salutary, by furnishing the means of improvement as
well to those who have finished their Common School
education as to those who have not. The demand for
books would ensure extensive editions of works containing matter judiciously selected, at prices which competition would soon reduce to the lowest rate at which
they could be furnished."
By an act of the Legislature, passed at this session,
a portion of the surplus income of the literature fund,
estimated at $3,000 per annum, was placed at the disposal of the Regents of the University, to be by them
distributed to such of the academies, subject to their
visitation, as they might select, and to be devoted exclusively to the education of Common School teachers.
At the opening of the session of 1835, Governor
MARCY  commended  to the special attention  of the
Legislature the expediency of the adoption of some
suitable provision for supplying competent teachers, for
improving the methods of instruction, and ensuring the
faithful and economical application of the public funds
to such objects and in such a manner as to effect the
best results. "In regard to the Common Schools," he
6




82                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
observes, "considering  their great importance in  a political and moral point of view, the efforts of the Legislature should not be intermitted, until the system  shall
be so  improved  as to  assure to the children of all classes
and conditions of our population  such  an  education as will
qualify them  to fulfill, in a proper manner, the duties appertaining  to  whatever  may  be  their respective  pursuits and
conditions of life."
The  annual report of the  Superintendent showed  a
further  increase  of  upward  of  800 in  the  number of
school districts, and  of  18,000 in  the  number of children instructed during  the year reported.  In  reference
to the subject of the suitable education of teachers for
the  duties of their position, Gen. Dix  observes:
" If the foundations of our whole system of instruction were to be laid anew
it would, perhaps, be advisable to create separate seminaries for the preparation of teachers, although from the nature of our institutions it might be
deemed arbitrary, if indeed it were practicable, to compel the school districts
to employ them. It would be equally difficult, without a great augmentation
of the School Fund, to present to the districts a sufficient pecuniary inducement to engage the individuals thus prepared; and it may be safely assumed
that nothing short of a thorough conviction in the public mind that Common
School teachers are, in general, incompetent to the proper fulfillment of their
trusts, and that the standard of education is extremely imperfect, would accomplish the object. If that conviction can now be created, the existing evils
may be readily redressed. Our Common School system is so perfectly organized, and administered throughout with so much order and regularity, and
so many academies under able management are already established, that it
would seem the part of wisdom to avail ourselves of these institutions, to the
extent of their capacity, for the purpose of training teachers for the Common
Schools. Their endowments, their organization, the experience and skill of
their instructors, and their whole intellectual power may be made subservient
to the public purpose in view; and with the aid which the State can lend
much may be effected. But whatever differences of opinion may prevail with
regard to the foundation of this plan in sound policy, the question has been
settled by the Legislature, and it remains only to carry it into execution with
proper energy. Should it prove inadequate to the end proposed, a change of
plan may then be insisted on, without being open to the objection of abandoning a system which has not been fairly tested.
" It may not be improper to remark, in this place, that the necessary connec



SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.                      83
tion which exists between our Common Schools and the literary institutions
of the State, including those of the highest grade, has been too frequently
overlooked. The academies have already been, in effect, without receiving from
the State any direct pecuniary aid for the purpose, nurseriesfor Common School
teachers. The great body of those who have, either temporarily or permanently, devoted themselves to teaching, have been prepared at the academies
with a view to that occupation, or to some professional employment. The instructors of the academies have, in their turn, been educated in the colleges; and
but for the latter, or some other system of classical and scientific education,
the academies would obviously be destitute of the necessary supply of tutors.
Thus all our incorporate literary institutions minister to the improvement of
the Common School system, on which the great body of the people are dependent for their education."
After briefly adverting to the defective state of the
system  of instruction  in  Common  Schools, the Superintendent proceeds, at considerable length, to combat the
idea  that  the  education  which  an  individual receives
should  be  necessarily exclusively  designed  to  fit him
for the particular employment he  may be destined  to
pursue in  after life.  "The attention of the great body
of  the  people,"  he  remarks,  "should be directed  to
objects beyond the sphere of the employments on which
they  depend  for their support.  Knowledge carries with
it influence  over the minds of others, and  this  influence is power-in  free governments, what is of more
vital concern, it is political power." And he proceeds
to illustrate those views by a reference to the range
and  importance  of  the  duties  devolving  upon  every
American citizen, rendering a comprehensive education
indispensable  to  the  proper  appreciation  and  intelligent performance  of  those  duties, without special regard  to  the  restricted  field  of labor  he may  himself
be called permanently to occupy.
On the 8th of January, 1835, General Dix, as chairman  of a committee of the Regents of the University,
appointed to  prepare  and report a plan, for the better
education  of  teachers  of Common  Schools, submitted




84             COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
an elaborate and able report recommending the establishment and organization of a teachers' department, to
be connected with one academy, to be designated by
the Regents, in each of the eight senatorial districts
of the State, indicating the course of study to be pursued in such departments, and appropriating to each
the annual sum of $400 from that portion of the literature fund applicable to this object. The report was
agreed to by the Regents, and ERASMUS HALL Academy, Kings County; MONTGOMERY Academy, in Orange;
KINDERHOOK  Academy, in  Columbia; ST. LAWRENCE
Academy; FAIRFIELD Academy, in Herkimer; OXFORD
Academy, in Chenango; CANANDAIGUA Academy, in Ontario; and MIDDLEBURY  Academy, in Wyoming, were
designated for the establishment of these departments.
On the 6th of May, General PROSPER M. WETMORE,
of New York, chairman of the Assembly Committee on
colleges, academies, and Common Schools, submitted a
very able report, concluding with a bill for the establishment of a separate "DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION," under the superintendence of an officer to
be designated as "Secretary of Public Instruction," to
be appointed triennially by the Legislature, in the same
manner as other State officers, who should possess the
powers and discharge the duties of Superintendent of
Common Schools, and be ex officio Chancellor of the
University. The several colleges and academies were
to be subject to his visitation and inspection, and especially the.several departments for the education of
teachers. No definite action was, however, had by the
Legislature on the bill during the session, and it was
not again renewed in any shape for many years.
The foundations of the SCHOOL DISTRICT LIBRARY
were laid on the 13th of April of this year, by the




SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.                        85
passage of an act, in accordance with the reoommendation  of  General Dix, authorizing  the  taxable  inhabitants of  the  several  school  districts  to  impose  a tax,
not exceeding twenty  dollars for the first and  ten dollars for each succeeding year, "for the purchase of a
district library, consisting of such books as they shall
in  their  district meeting  direct."   The bill was ably
advocated  in  the  Senate  by  Colonel YOUNG, of  Saratoga, and LEVI BEARDSLEY, of Otsego;  and  its friends
were  indebted  for  its  success, in  great  part, to  the
untiring  exertions and  extensive  influence  of the  venerable  JAMES  WADSWORTH,  of   Geneseo,  Livingston
county, an eminent philanthropist, who lost no opportunity  to  aid, by  his ample  wealth  and  comprehensive
benevolence, every enterprise by which the mental and
moral advancement of the rising  generation  might be
promoted.
Governor MARCY, in  his message  at the  opening of
the session of 1836, thus again adverts to this great
interest:
" In a government like ours, which emanates from the people-where the
entire administration, in all its various branches, is conducted for their benefit,
and subject to their constant supervision and control-and where the safety
and perpetuity of all its political institutions depend upon their virtue and
intelligence-no other subject can be equal in importance to that of public
instruction, and none should so earnestly engage the attention of the Legislature. Ignorance, with all the moral evils of which it is the prolific source,
brings with it also numerous political evils, dangerous to the welfare of the
State. It should be the anxious care of the Legislature to eradicate these
evils, by removing the causes of them. This can be done effectually only by
diffusing instruction generally among the people. Although much remains
here to be done in this respect, the past efforts of legislation upon the subject merit high commendation. MIuch has been already accomplished for
the cause of popular education. A large fund has been dedicated to this
object, and our Common School system is established on right principles.
"But this is one of those subjects for which all cannot be done that is
required, without a powerful co-operation on the part of the people, in their
individual capacity. The providing of funds for education is an indispens



86                  COM3MON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
able means for attaining the end, but it is not education. The wisest system
that can be devised cannot be executed without human agency. The difficulty in the case arises, I fear, from the fact that the benefits of general education can only be fully appreciated by those who are educated themselves.
Those parents who are so unfortunate as not to be properly educated, and
those whose condition requires them to employ their time and their efforts
to gain the means of subsistence, do not, in many instances, sufficiently value
the importance of education. Yet it is for their children, in common with
all others, that the Common School system is designed; and until its blessings are made to reach them, it will not be what it ought to be.
"If parents generally were sensible of the inestimable advantages they
were procuring for their children by educating them, I am sure the efforts
and contributions which are required to give full efficiency to our present
system would not be withheld. If I have rightly apprehended the indications of public opinion on this subject, a more auspicious season is approaching. At this time, a much larger number of individuals than heretofore are
exerting their energies and contributing their means to impress the public
mind with the importance of making our system of popular instruction effective in diffusing its benefits to all the children of the State. I anticipate
much good from the prevalence of the sentiment that the efforts of individuals must co-operate with the public authorities to insure success to any
system of general education."
At  this period,  the  number  of school districts  in
the  State  exceeded  10,000, and  the  number  of  children   instructed   during  an   average  period  of  eight
months in  each  year, by  duly  qualified  teachers, was
541,400;  exceeding   by   more  than   2,000  the' number between  the  ages  of five  and  sixteen  residing  in
the State, and by 10,000, the number taught during the
preceding  year.  The Superintendent, in  his annual report, repeats the expression  of his conviction, "that a
school fund so large as to admit of a distribution of money
to  the  Common  Schools  in  any  degree  approaching  the
amount expended for their sutport would be likely to be injtrious rather than  beneficial."   "It is, from  the nature
of the subject, impossible,"  he  observes,  "to  fix  the
exact limit below  which  a reduction  of the  sunm  distributed-including  the  amount  raised  by  taxation  in
the several towns-would cease to operate as an induce



SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.           87
ment to the inhabitants to assume the residue of the
expenses of maintaining the schools, or beyond which
its increase would render their burdens so light as to
create inattention to the concerns of the districts. It
may, however, be safely assumed, that at any point between forty and fifty cents per scholar, it is not probable
that either of these evils would be felt; and that its
augmentation above the maximum on the one hand, or
its reduction, on the other, below the minimum  above
named, ought to be avoided, if practicable."
The experience of the past thirty years has shown
that, however sound the views of General Dix undoubtedly were, so far as the coftributions of a permanent
State fifnd, not directly dependent upon the popular aid,
were concerned, the reliance upon a fund made up of
such contributions and the general and equal taxation
of the entire community for the free education of all
its future members, has fully vindicated its superior
efficiency in advancing the interests of public instruction.  So long as dependence upon merely local taxation in aid of the public funds was relied upon, the
augmentation of the latter sensibly tended to diminish
the proportionate contributions of the former.
At the opening of the session of 1837, Governor
MARCY again brought the subject before the Legislature, in connection with the act of Congress of the preceding year, authorizing the deposit of the share belonging to the States respectively, of the surplus revenue
of the United States, with such States for safe keeping
until required by the General Government. He recommended the appropriation from the annual income of
this fund, of an amount equal to the sum annually distributed to the Common Schools, to be applied to the
same purpose as at present-the payment of the wages




88             COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
of duly qualified teachers-increasing the annual distribution for this purpose from $110,000 to $220,000; a
liberal appropriation to the academies, having in view
principally the design of rendering them more efficient
as seminaries for educating Common School teachers;
and the addition of the residue of such income to the
capital of the Common School Fund. He also recommended the transfer of the general supervision and
visitation of the several academies of the State from
the Regents of the University to the Secretary of State,
in his official capacity as Superintendent of Common
Schools-disapproving of the proposed erection of a
separate department of public instruction, and suggesting the appointment of an additional deputy to aid the
Secretary in the performance of that portion of his official duties pertaining to educational supervision.  He
commends the efforts in progress for the promotion of
popular instruction by the diffusion of education through
all ranks of the people, and the devotion of talents and
wealth to this great cause, and expresses his conviction
that, aided by the powerful co-operation of the Legislature, its advancement may confidently be anticipated.
No definite appropriation of the proceeds of the
United States Deposit Fund was made at this session;
and the subject went over to the ensuing year.
From  the annual report of the Superintendent, it
appeared that the appropriation from  the revenue of
the Common School Fund had now reached the annual
sum of $110,000: but that the attendance on the several
schools had fallen short of that of the preceding year
by nearly 10,000 pupils. This extraordinary and unprecedented  diminution  the  Superintendent  attributed,
doubtless correctly, "to the prevalence of an absorbing
attention in a considerable portion of the community




SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.             89
to their pecuniary interests, rather than to the interests
of education." It will be recollected that at this period
over-speculation and pecuniary extravagance of every
kind were more than usually rife-followed, as was inevitable, by a sudden re-action which plunged the business community into severe and protracted embarrassment. "Strong excitements in the community," observes
General Dix, "especially when continued for a length
of time, are, in their nature, unfriendly to the cause of
education; and of such excitements none is, perhaps, so
much so, as that which is characteristic of periods when
fortunes are amassed without effort and by the mere
chances of speculation. In the year 1834, the Common
Schools were in better condition, in all respects, than
they had been at any previous time; and, as is well
known, that year was distinguished by a serious depression in the business affairs of the country.  The
interests of education seem never to be better secured
than in seasons when individuals are compelled to husband their resources, and when the highest as well as
the most certain rewards are those which are the fruits
of patient industry.  No period seems less propitious to
the promotion of those interests than that season of delusive
prosperity in which multitudes are tempted, by a few instances of wealth suddenly acquired, to lay aside their accustomed avocations and embark in the precarious tpursuits of
fortune."  Words of soberness and wisdom-and applicable in all time!
In his message at the opening of the session of
1838, Gov. MARCY repeats his recommendations of the
preceding year, in reference to the disposition of the
revenue of the United States Deposit Fund, with the
additional suggestion  that a portion of this fund be
devoted to the purchase of SCHOOL DISTRICT LIBRARIES




90             COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
in such districts as should raise by taxation an equal
amount to that apportioned for this purpose.  He expresses the opinion that the several departments in the
academies designated by the Regents of the University for the preparation of teachers for the Common
Schools, however ably conducted, must prove inadequate
to the supply required, and recommends the establishment of county normal schools, and a contemporaneous increase in the number of academical departments
for the education. of teachers, the additional expense to
be defrayed from the revenue of the deposit fund.
The report of the Superintendent showed a still
further decrease of nearly 8,000 in the attendance of
pupils during the preceding year.
The Legislature, in substantial accordance with the
recommendations of the Governor, passed an act adding  the sum  of $160,000 from  the revenue of the
United States Deposit Fund, to the amount to be annually apportioned among the several districts; making the entire sum  $275,000-one-fifth  of which, or
$55,000, to be annually appropriated to the purchase of
suitable books for the several district libraries, and the
remainder to the payment'of duly qualified teachers.
An equal amount was required to be raised upon the
taxable property of the several counties and towns, and
applied to the same purposes and in the same proportion. The residue of the income from the deposit fund,
after deducting certain appropriations to the colleges and
academies-the latter to be applied to the benefit of
the teachers' departments in the institutions designated
by the Regents-was added  to the principal of the
Common School Fund.
On the 7th of March, the Honorable DANIEL D.
BARNARD, from  the Assembly Committee on Colleges,




SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZ ATION.           91
Academies, and Common Schools, submitted a masterly
and eloquent report upon the general subject of public
instruction, presenting  many important and valuable
suggestions for the extension and greater efficiency of
our, systems of popular education.  No specifc legislative action in accordance with the recommendations of
the report was had.
It is due to the memory of Governor MARCY, who,
after ably filling the several high positions of United
States Senator, Secretary of War, and Secretary of
State, under the administrations of Presidents Polk and
Pierce, suddenly expired at Saratoga, July 4, 1857, to
say that none of his predecessors in the Executive chair
manifested a more enlightened appreciation of the interests of Common School education and public instruction generally. His comprehensive mind readily grasped
all the details of the system, and his abilities as a
statesman, his patriotism  as a citizen, and his heart as
a man, were warmly enlisted in its support.
His successor in office, Governor SEWARD, at the
opening of the session of 1839, availed himself of the
earliest opportunity to impress upon the attention of
the Legislature the interests of elementary public instruction; expressing his conviction of the paramount
necessity of elevating the standard of education; recommending legislative co-operation in the furtherance of
efforts to engraft the system of normal school instruction  upon  our educational institutions  through  the
agency of the academies; strongly commending  the
establishment and extension of district libraries; and
urging the indispensable necessity of a more thorough
and efficient visitation and inspection of our Common
Schools.
From  the annual report of the Superintendent, it




92                    COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
appeared that the number  of organized  school districts
it the  State  was  10,583, and  the  number  of  children
under instruction, 529,000.   He  observes:
"Although the proper objects of public instruction are better understood
than they have been at any previous time, the importance of the reform
now in progress, through the establishment of district libraries and other
agencies, is not perhaps so generally appreciated as it deserves to be. It is
but a few years since Common School instruction was ordinarily limited to a
knowledge of reading, writing, and arithmetic.  The acquisitions which are
now regarded as the means of education were then regarded as its objects
and ends. No plan of education can now be considered as complete which does not
embrace a full development of the intellectual faculties, a systematic and careful
discipline of the moralfeelings, and a preparation of the pupilfor the social and
political relations which he is destined to sustain in manhood.  It must be conceded that the standard of Common School education in this State falls far
short of the attainment of these objects; but the aim  of its friends is to
introduce into the established system such improvements as shall ultimately
secure their accomplishment. Is this a visionary hope? Those who are
most familiar with the practical workings of the system believe that it is
not.  The whole reform will be accomplished by furnishing each school district
with a competent teacher. The application of the remedy is certainly surrounded with difficulties. It must be accomplished by the gradual progress
and influence of opinion."  *  *  *  "There is reason to hope and believe
that opinion will gradually accomplish what it seems difficult, if not impossible, to secure by compulsory measures. No people are more quick-sighted
as to their true interests than the inhabitants of this State. They cannot
fail to see that the education of their children will be best secured by employing competent teachers, and that the avenues to wealth and distinction,
though open to all, are beset with difficulties for those who enter them without the mental preparation which is necessary to enable them to contend
successfully against more favored competitors."
On the subject of DISTRICT LIBRARIES, the Superintendent remarks:
" Common School libraries are, in the strictest sense, institutions for the
benefit of the people. They are, like the Common Schools, among the most
effectual means of correcting, as far as human regulations can correct them,
those inequalities of condition which arise from superior advantages of fortune. The intellectual endowments of men are various, and it is therefore in
the order of nature that individuals shall not enter on equal terms into competition with each other for the acquisition of wealth, honor, and political
distinctions. But it is in the power of human government to guard, to a




SECOND PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.                       93
certain extent, against greater inequalities, by providing proper means of
intellectual improvement for all. Under any circumstances, however, those
whose pecuniary means exempt them from the necessity of devoting any
portion of their time to manual or intellectual exertion have an advantage
over those who are compelled to gain a subsistence by their own industry.
The time which may be devoted by the latter to intellectual cultivation is
often extremely limited; and they will labor under still greater disabilities,
if the facilities for improvement within their reach are scanty and imperfect.
By raising the standard of Common School education to the greatest possible elevation, the duty of the Government will be fully discharged, so far as
the foundations of moral and intellectual character are concerned, and it can
do nothing further but to place within the reach of all the means of improving
themselves by. reading. The children of men of wealth will always be supplied with books from their own resources; but the children of those who
are unable to purchase libraries must, at the termination of their Common
School course, be deprived in a great degree of the means of improvement,
unless public libraries are established and placed within their reach. Common School libraries are therefore particularly calculated to benefit persons
of limited means, and they should comprise works on all subjects of practical usefulness, as well as books designed to excite a taste for reading. The
mechanic and the farmer should be enabled to draw from them the knowledge which is necessary to enable them to make the most beneficial application of their own powers, by teaching them how to render the laws of nature
subservient to their use.   *      *      *     *      *      *
" However great may be the advantages to result to individuals from an
extensive diffusion of books, these are considerations of far less importance
than the public benefit which it promises. An intellectual and reading community is far more secure against the prevalence of vice and a taste for the
grosser gratifications, than an unenlightened people. The standard of moral
character will advance to a certain extent as knowledge is diffused; for,
whatever effort may be made to distinguish intellectual from moral culture,
by those who contend that the former is not of itself a safeguard against
depravity and crime, the cultivation of the mental faculties is so intimately
related to the improvement of the moral sentiment that it is hardly possible
the connection should be wholly dissolved."
The  Superintendent also  makes a  strong  appeal to
the  Legislature  for  the  passage  of  a  law  upon  the
basis of that of Massachusetts, securing by compulsory
enactment the instruction of children employed in manufacturing  establishments.
It appears  also  from   the  report  that  the  sum   of
$2,241,200  had  been  invested, throughout  the  several




94                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
school districts of the State, in the building of school
houses  and  the  purchase  of  sites;  that  the  annual
expense  of  supplying  such  buildings with  fuel, at $10
each, was  $102,060;  and  the  annual expense  of  supplying   the  several  schools  with  text-books,  at  fifty
cents  for  each  pupil, was  $264,456.50.   The  amount
raised by rate-bill for the payment of teachers' wages,
over  and  above  the  public  money  received  from   the
State  and  raised  by  county  and  town  taxation  in  accordance  with  law, was $477,875.27, making "the whole
sum, including the public money, expended for the support of Common  Schools upward  of $1,000,000.
In referring  to  the subject of moral antd religious instruction in the schools, Gen. Dix has the following sensible, pertinent, and judicious remarks:
"However desirable it may be to lay the foundation of Common School
education in religious instruction, the multiplicity of sects in this State would
render the accomplishment of such an object a work of great difficulty. In
Massachusetts it is provided by law that no school-book shall be used in any
of the schools'calculated to favor any religious sect.' In this State no such
legal provision has been made: but the natural desire of every class of Christians to exclude from the schools instruction in the tenets of other classes has
led to the disuse, by common consent, of religious bcoks of almost every description, excepting the BIBLE and NEW TESTAMENT, which are used in
more than one hundred towns as reading books.
"The spirit of jealousy by which the schools are surrounded, regarded as
they are as most efficient instruments in the formation of opinions, will probably render this state of things perpetual; and it is of the greater importance,
therefore, that moral instruction and training should constitute a principal
branch of the system of education. No teacher can receive a certificate of
qualification from the inspectors unless they are satisfied as to his moral character. In this respect the inspectors cannot be too rigid in their scrutiny. A
teacher whose moral sentiments are loose, or whose habits of life are irregular,
is an unfit instructor for the young, whatever may be his intellectual acquirements, or his skill in communicating knowledge. The lessons of moral truth
which are taught at the domestic fireside, and the examples of moral rectitude which are there displayed, will be in danger of losing all their benefits,
if the school-room does not reinforce them by its sanctions. If neither the
atmosphere of the family circle nor of the school is free from impurity, to what
other source can the young resort for those principles of morality which shall




SECOND  PERIOD.-ORGANIZATION.                        93
render their intellectual improvement subservient to useful purposes, and without which it might become an instrument to be wielded for the annoyance of
their fellows and for their own destruction? Though moral principles may
have their origin in the heart, it is not to be expected that their proper development can be effected amid the perpetual counteraction of hostile influences.
" Moral cultivation should, therefore, be one of the first objects of Common
School instruction. The great doctrines of ethics, so far as they concern the
practical rules of human conduct, receive the intuitive assent of all; and with
them may be combined instruction in those principles of natural religion which
are drawn from the observation of the works of nature, which address themselves with the same certainty to the conviction, and which carry to the
minds of all observers irresistible evidence of the wisdom, the beneficence, and
the power of their Divine Author. Beyond this it is questionable whether instruction in matters of religious obligation can be carried-excepting so far as the
school districts may make the BIBLE and NEw TESTAMIENT class-books; and there
cant be no ground to apprehend that the schools will be usedfor the purpose of favoring any particular sect or tenet, if these sacred writings, which are their own
safest interpreters, are read without any other comment than such as may be ne_
cessary to explain and enforce, by familiar illustration, the lessons of duty which
they teach.
" In connection with this subject, it is highly gratifying to consider that
the religious institutions of the country, reaching, as they do, the most sequestered neighborhoods, and the Sabbath schools, which are almost as widely
diffused, afford ample means of instruction in the principles and practice of
the Christian faith. In countries where ecclesiastical affairs are the subject of
political regulation, there is no difficulty in making religious instruction the
foundation of education by arrangements independent of the action of those
whom it immediately concerns. But the policy of our law is to leave the subject where it may most properly be left-with the officers and inhabitants of
the school districts."
On the 4th  of February, the Hon. JOHN  C. SPENCER,
of Ontario, was appointed Secr3tary  of State and Superintendent of Common  Schools.  In passing from  the administration  of Gen. Dix  to  that of his successor, it is
scarcely necessary  to  observe that the exertions of the
former, during  the  six  years in  which  the  interests  of
the Common  Schools were committed to  his charge, in
the  elevation  and  expansion  of the  system   of popular
education, were unsurpassed by any of his predecessors.
The impress of his clear, discriminating, and  cultivated
mind was stamped  upon  every feature  of that system;




90             COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
and the order, arrangement, and harmony which pervaded all its parts, were due not less to the ceaseless
vigilance of his supervision thn  t to the symmetry and
beauty of the system itself. In 1837, under the authority of the Legislature, he collected together and published a volume of the decisions of his predecessor and
himself, embracing a full exposition of nearly every provision of the School Act; establishing upon a permanent
basis the principles of future interpretation, and exerting a highly beneficial influence upon the councils and
proceedings of the officers and inhabitants of the several districts, in repressing litigation, and in defining
the powers, privileges, and responsibilities of those called
to the performance of any duty in relation to the Common Schools. The system  of District School Libraries
was also organized and put into successful operation under his immediate supervision; and to his clear and convincing exposition of the principles upon which that useful and beneficent institution was based, the ends it was
designed to subserve, and the objects it was capable of
accomplishing, a large share of the success which has
attended its establishment is unquestionably due.
Since the close of his official term as Secretary of
State and Superintendent of Common Schools, Gen. DLx
has served with distinction and ability as a Senator of
the United States, Secretary of the Navy under the administration of President Buchanan, a Major-General in
command of an important military department in the
war of the Rebellion, and Minister Plenipotentiary to
the court of St. Cloud at Paris. He is now an honored
and universally respected resident of the city of New
York.




THIRD   PERIOD.-1839 To 1845.
ADVANCEMENT.
SECTION I.-ADMINISTRATION OF SECRETARY JOHN C. SPENCER-1839 TO 1842.
Character of 7ohn C. Spencer.-Messages of Governor Seward.County Visitors of Common Schools.-Their Report.-Education
of the Children of Foreigners.-Condition of the Schools.-Capital of the Common School Fund —ppropriation and Expenditure
of.-Free Schools.-District Libraries.-Teachers' Departments in
Academies.-County Superintendents.-District School Journal.Graded Schools in Cities and Villages.''W  E now  enter upon a most important period in the
history  of  the  Common  School system-important not only as the initiation of the great policy
of county  supervision, and  the almost entire  reconstruction  of the  system, through  the  energies of a
master mind, but as the definitive adjustment and settlement of the disturbing element of religious sectarian
controversy, and the establishment of an organization
from which sprung into vigorous existence the present
magnificent system  of public school instruction in the
city of New York.
JoHN C. SPENCER, to whose hands this great interest
of the State  had now  been  committed by the Legislature, was in every respect a most remarkable man.
Possessed of transcendent intellectual endowments and
unimpeachable  moral worth,  and   having   faithfully
availed himself of the amplest facilities for extensive
scholarship  and  professional celebrity, he  united  to
these  elements  of success and future  distinction  an
7




98              COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
indefatigable industry, untiring  perseverance, and an
intense love of intellectual labor, which, in combilrtioi
with a peculiar and extraordinary faculty for the coimprehension  and mastery  of the most intricate details
of every subject to which he directed his mind, enabled him  to grasp, as with  hooks of steel, all its
essential features, and with unerring precision and accuracy to reach his conclusions.  However complicated
and involved the problem  to be solved, and whatever
expenditure of time and labor might be required for
its complete evolution,
"The Gordian knot of it he could unloose,
Familiar as his garter."
Possessed of a mind "gigantic in its comprehension
and microscopic in its accuracy," from  the revision and
codification of the entire body of the laws of the State,
extending over a period of more than half a century,
to the minutest architectural details of a country schoolhouse, with its out-buildings and appendages, and from
an exhausting judicial investigation of the tangled and
mysterious labyrinths of a great crime, involving the
character of an ancient and wide-spread institution, to
the most obscure recesses of the pigeon-holes of the
State Department under his charcge-no enterprise was
too vast-no detail too humble —for his capacious energies. Often remaining at his desk-heaped with a chaotic accumulation of papers which, under no circumstances, would he permit any  one to disturb  in the
minutest manner, and from  which no  one but himself could lay hands upon any particular document required-until two or three o'clock in the morning, his
rapid  step and explosive closing of the doors of his
official sanctum uniformly announced his presence long




THIRD PERIOD.-ADVANCEMENT.             99
before noon of the ensuing day; and woe to any rash
or inconsiderate trifler  who  should venture, without
adequate and weighty reasons, to  intrude  upon his
labors. So rigid was his discipline, and so well known
were his habits in this respect, that on one occasion
the worthy and venerable Deputy Secretary, Mr. CAMPBELL, in ignorance of the quality of his distinguished
guest, ignominiously ejected no less a personage than
WASHINGTON IRVING, who had innocently entered the
inner sanctuary with a view  of turning over some of
the ancient Dutch records for the illustration of his immortal works.  The speedy arrival of the Secretary,
however, in company with the Governor (Seward), led
to a full explanation, recognition, and apology; but
the sensitive author of the "Sketch Book" could not
be persuaded again to enter the forbidden precincts,
and remained for several days in the prosecution of
his labors in the clerks' department.
Mr. SPENCER was a son of Chief Justice AMBROSE
SPENCER, who was a brother-in-law of DE WITT CLINTON; and, through the influence of these distinguished
men and his own superior abilities, assumed at an early
period a prominent political position. In 1817, he represented the Ontario District in Congress, and in the
following year became an unsuccessful candidate for the
position of United States Senator; in 1820, he was elected Speaker of the Assembly; in 1825, Senator from the
Eighth District, in which body, as chairman of the Literature Committee, he rendered, by his able reports, as
has been previously seen, most important aid in the development and advancement of the Common School system; in 1827, he was appointed one of the Revisers of the
Laws of the State; in 1829, by Governor VAN BUREN, special counsel for the prosecution of the perpetrators of




100            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
the Morgan outrage-a position which he soon after abaiidoned in disgust on the allegation that his exertions for
the elucidation of the mystery and the exposure of ii:t
guilty accomplices were paralyzed by the complicity of
the Executive Department, in the hands of Governor
TuIHOP, with the leading members of the Masonic fraternity, in their efforts to suppress investigation; and in
1831 and 1833, he was again returned from the county
of Ontario to the Assembly, in the deliberations and
discussions of which he took a conspicuous part. His
duties as one of the Revisers of the State Laws occupied him in the intervals of his other professional, legislative, and executive associations, for a period of more
than twenty years, growing out of continued changes in
the laws, judicial interpretations, and the frequently
recurring necessity of republication.  Previous to the
expiration of his official term  in October, 1841, he was
appointed Secretary of War in the cabinet of President
TYLEER, from whence he was subsequently transferred to
the head of the Treasury Department; and died a few
years since at his residence in Albany. His passions
were  strong  and  impetuous —chastened  and  sobered,
however, by time, domestic sorrows, and a life-long adherence to the Christian faith.  He was essentially a
great and good man, and of him, it may truly and pertinently be said
" Take him for all in all,
We ne'er shall look upon his like again."
Deeply impressed with the necessity of a more thorough and efficient supervision and inspection  of the
several schools, Mr. SPENCER, immediately upon entering upon his official duties as  Superintendent, with
characteristic energy and decision, procured the passage
of a law  authorizing the appointment by him  of a




THIRD PERIOD.-ADVANCEMENT.               101
County Board of Visitors, whose duty it should be gratuitously to visit the Common Schools within their jurisdiction, and to report to the Superintendent the results
of their examination, with such suggestions for the improvement of these institutions as they  might deem
expedient. These visitors were selected from  the most
intelligent citizens of the several counties, without distinction of party, and  entered with  promptitude and
efficiency upon the discharge of their duties under specific and detailed instructions from the department.
Among their number was the Rev. Dr. ALoszo  POTTER, then  of Union  College, Schenectady;  the Rev.
Drs. WHITEHOUSE and DEWEY, of Rochester; the Hon.
JABEZ D. HAMMOND and D. HI. LITTLE, Esq., of Otsego; JAMES WADSWORTH, of Geneseo; FRANCIS DWIGHT,
Esq., of Geneva; JAMES W. BEEKMAN, of New  York;
THOMAS LEGGETT, Jr., of Queens; ANDREW  W. LEGGETT, of Westchester;  SALEM  TOWN, of Cayuga, and
others of equal ability and talent.  Most of the Common Schools of the State were visited by them, and
a mass of valuable information  respecting  their condition  and prospects, accompanied by important suggestions for their improvement, obtained and communicated to the Legislature.  With great unanimity, they
recommended the plan of an  efficient and  systematic
County supervision, under the general direction of the
Department, as a substitute for the existing inefficient
method of town inspection.
In his message at the opening  of the session  of
1840, Governor SEWARD thus adverts to the subject of
elementary education:
"Although our system of public education is well endowed, and has been
eminently successful, there is yet occasion for the benevolent and enlightened
action of the Legislature. The advantages of education ought to be secured




102                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
to many, especially in our larger cities, whom orphanage, the depravity of
parents, or some form of accident or misfortune, seems to have doomed to
hopeless poverty and ignorance. Their intellects are as susceptible of expansion, of improvement, of refinement, of elevation, and of direction, as those
minds which, through the favor of Providence, are permitted to develop
themselves under the influence of better fortunes. They inherit the common
lot, to struggle against temptations, necessities, and vices; they are to assume the same domestic, social, and political relations; and they are born to
the same ultimate destiny.
" The children of foreigners, found in great numbers in our populous
cities and towns, and in the vicinity of our public works, are too often
deprived of the advantages of our system of public education, in consequence
of prejudices arising from difference of language or religion. It ought never
to be forgotten that the public welfare is as deeply concerned in their education as in that of our own children. I do not hesitate, therefore, to reconm'mend the establishment of schools in wchich they may be instructed by teachers
speacing the same language wcith themselves, and professing the same faith.
There would be no inequality in such a measure, since it happens, from force
of circumstances if not from choice, that the responsibilities of education are
in most instances confided by us to native citizens, and occasions seldom offer
for a trial of our magnanimity by committing that trust to persons differing
from ourselves in language or religion. Since we have opened our country
and all its fullness, to the oppressed of every nation, we shall evince wisdom
equal to such generosity by qualifying their children for the high responsibilities of citizenship."
From   the  annual report  of  the  Superintendent, it
appeared  that the whole  number of  school districts  in
the  State, on the 1st of January, 1839, the date  of the
reports, was 10,127;  the  number of children  under instruction, 557,229-or an increase of 28,316 over the preceding year; the average number attending each school,
55; the  average  term   of  instruction  during  the  year,
eight months; the  aggregate  amount of public  money
expended,  including   the  sum   raised  by  the  several
boards of supervisors, in conformity with law  and under
special  statutes, in  the  cities  of  New  York, Albany,
Brooklyn, and  Buffalo, by voluntary  taxation  in  towns,
and  from  permanent local funds, was $374,411.61, which,
together with  the  sum   of $521,477.49, paid  by  parents
on  rate-bills, amounting  in  all to  $895,889.10, was ap



THIRD PERIOD.-ADVANCEMENT.                     103
plied  to the payment  of the wages  of duly  qualified
teachers-being an excess of $82,130.91 over the amount
so  expended  in  1837.   Adding  the  interest  on  the
money. invested in the several school-houses, the expense  of  fuel, books,  slates, and  stationery, repairs,
collectors' fees,  and   compensation   to   commissioners
and  inspectors,  amounting  in  all to  $886,124.81, the
entire estimated expense for the support of the schools
during  the  year 1838  was $1,782,013.91, or an  average
cost of instruction for each child of $3.20.  The average
compensation of male teachers, assuming female teachers as employed for half the time at $5.50 per month,
was estimated  at $16.60 per month-the  average  compensation  of such  teachers  in  1831 having  been  only
$11.85, and in 1837 about $14.
The  productive  capital  of  the  Common
School fund,...... $1,988,069.63
Added to  that portion  of the principal of
the United  States deposit fund which
furnishes the income of $165,000 provided by law, viz....  2,750,000.00
Shows the actual productive capital to be,
in  1840,....... $4,738,069.63
"The Superintendent doubts whether this capital needs any further provision for its enlargement. While public beneficence is bestowed in such a
degree as to stimulate individual enterprise, it performs its proper office.
When it exceeds that limit, it tempts to reliance upon its aid, and necessarily
relaxes the exertions of those who receive it. The spirit of our institutions
is hostile to such dependence; it requires that the citizens should exercise a
constant vigilance over their own institutions, as the surest means of preserving them. A direct pecuniary contribution to the maintenance of schools
identifies them with the feelings of the people, and secures their faithful and
economical management." ** * "In the State of Connecticut, the large
endowment of the public schools produced lassitude and neglect, and in
many instances the funds were perverted to other purposes, to such an extent
that an entire change in the system became necessary.




104               COMMON SCHOOL SYSTE3M.
"Free schools partake so much of the nature of charitable institutions
that those who can possibly afford to educate their children at select schools
will do so, in preference to sending them to the district schools for gratuitous instruction, and thus a practical distinction would be created between
the children of the republic, hostile to the spirit of our Government, and.
inimical to those just feelings of equality among our citizens which constitute genuine republicanism. In cities, where there are large numbers who
would not be instructed at all if free schools were not provided, the evil
must be encountered, as being less in degree than that of total ignorance.
But in the country districts such destitution rarely exists, and when it does,
provision is made by law for gratuitous instruction in each particular case."
It will be  perceived  from  this  extract  that  Mr.
SPENCER participated  in  the fears of his predecessors,
that any considerable  change  in the  proportions subsisting between  the  public fund  derived directly  from
the State, and the contributions of individuals by local
taxation  and  rate-bills, would  necessarily prove  detrimental to  the true  interests  of Common  School education.  "Nous avons change tout cela!"  Fully assenting
to  the proposition  that no increase of the fund drawn
directly from the State treasury, from the avails of the sale
of public lands, and other sources independent of taxation,
would be desirable, and conceding that such additional
endowment might probably have a tendency to relax the
exertions and diminish  the interest of individuals, we
have, upon full and mature consideration and discussion,
established the principle, and from experience ascertained
the fact, that a system  of general taxation on the valuation of the real and personal property of the inhabitants
of the State, properly assessed, and distributed throughout its various counties and towns upon  an  equitable
standard, equal to the supply of whatever deficiency may remain after the application of the public funds provided
as above mentioned, so far from  producing any tendency
to relaxation or indifference in the public interest to the
welfare and improvement of the schools, will and does,




THIRD PERIOD.-ADVANCEAIENT.           105
under proper supervision, immeasurably increase such
interest, elevate the standard of education, and more
generally and universally diffuse its blessings.
Departments for the instruction of Common School
teachers having been established by the Regents of the
University, under the act of 1838, in seven additional
academies, reports had been received by the Superintendent from those previously designated, and from  the
following institutions designated  under the act, viz.:
Amenia Seminary, Dutchess county; Albany Female
Academy; Troy Female Seminary; Genesee Wesleyan
Seminary, Livingston  county;  Cortland  Academy;
Rochester Collegiate  Institute, Monroe  county; and
Ithaca Academy, Tompkins county. These reports indicate, in the judgment of the Superintendent, the exertion of a favorable influence upon the character and
qualification of teachers. The standard had been raised,
the demand for competent teachers increased, and the
supply augmented. He recommends a still further increase of these departments, and an increase in the
allowance to them from the public funds.
Several thousand district libraries had been procured
during the year reported, from the avails of the fund
provided for that object, and regulations prescribed by
the Superintendent for their use.
On the 13th of April, the Superintendent transmitted to the Legislature the reports of the several Visitors of Common Schools, accompanied by a condensed
abstract of their views and suggestions, together with a
full exposition of his own, in reference to the various
proposed improvements and modifications of the system.
"It has already been shown to the Legislature," he observes, "from the official returns, that at least one-half
of all the schools in the State are not visited at all by




106             COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
the Inspectors. The reports of the Visitors show that
the examinations of the Inspectors are slight and superficial, and that no benefit is derived from them. Many
of the Boards unhesitatingly recommend the abolition
of the office. The Superintendent is constrained to express his concurrence in these opinions."  He recommends the appointment of DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENTS of
Common Schools for each county, and expatiates upon
the signal advantages to be secured to the interests of
the Common Schools by the adoption of a system  of
visitation at once so comprehensive and efficient.  He
dissents from the views of the Visitors as to the expediency of establishing normal schools in each county for
the instruction and preparation of teachers, being of the
opinion that the existing system of academical departments for this purpose was preferable, and he accordingly concurs in the recommendation of his predecessor
for their increase. He strongly urges the establishment,
under the patronage of the State, of a District School
Journal, to be exclusively devoted to the promotion of
education; the attainment, if practicable, through the
organization of some general society, of a uniformity
of text-books for the use of schools; some adequate
provision for the vaccination of children attending the
Common Schools; the introduction of vocal music, as a
branch of elementary instruction and practice; the extension of the official terms of commissioners and trustees, and the annual election of one of their number;
the voluntary organization of county boards of education, and of town, county, and State associations for the
improvement of Commlon School education; the establishment in the cities and larger towns of graded schools,
under the charge of a local superintendent; and several
minor reforms in the details of the existing system.




THIRD PERIOD. —DVANCEMENT.                        107
On the 15th of April, the Honorable JoHN A. KING,
from  the Committee on  Colleges, Academies, and Common  Schools  of the Assembly, submitted  an  elaborate
report, accompanied by a bill embracing substantially
the improvements and modification of the system  recommended  by  the  Superintendent.   This bill passed  the
Assembly  on  the  12th  of  May  subsequently;  but no
definite action  was had upon  it in  the Senate for want
of time.
Gov.  SEWARD   again   called  the  attention  of  the
Legislature to the subject of public education, in his
message  of 1841, in the following terms:
"The number of children attending the Common Schools is about
570,000, and the whole number of children between five and sixteen years
of age, as nearly as can be ascertained, is about 600,000.  There are about
eleven thousand Common School districts in the State, in all of which
schools are maintained during an average period of eight months in the
year. Of these school districts there are very few which have not complied
with the act providing for the establishment of school district libraries.
Although an injudicious choice of books is sometimes made, these libraries
generally include history and biography, voyages and travels, works on
natural history and the physical sciences, treatises upon agriculture, commerce, manufactures, and the arts, and judicious selections from modern
literature.
"Henceforth, no citizen who shall have improved the advantages offered
by our Common Schools and the district libraries will be without some
scientific knowledge of the earth, its physical condition and its phenomena,
the animals that inhabit it, the vegetables that clothe it with verdure, and
the minerals under its surface; the physiology and the intellectual powers
of man; the laws of mechanics, and their practical uses; those of chemistry,
and their application to the arts; the principles of moral and political
economy; the history of nations, and especially that of our own country;
the progress and triumph of the democratic principle in the governments
on this continent, and the prospect of its ascendency throughout the world;
the trials and faith, valor and constancy of our ancestors; with all the inspiring examples of benevolence, virtue, and patriotism exhibited in the lives
of the benefactors of mankind.  The fruits of this enlightened and beneficent enterprise are chiefly to be gathered by our successors.  But the present generation will not be altogether unrewarded.  Although many of our
citizens may pass the district library, heedless of the treasures it contains,




108                  COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
the unpretending volumes will find their way to the fireside, diffusing knowledge,      increasing domestic happiness, and promoting public virtue.
" When the census of 1850 shall be taken, I trust it will show that
within the borders of the State of New York there is no child of sufficient
Syears who is unable to read and write. I am sure it will then be acknowledged that when, ten years before, there were thirty thousand children growing up in ignorance and vice, a suggestion to seek them, wherever found,
and win them  to the ways of knowledge and virtue by persuasion, sympathy, and kindness, was prompted by a sincere desire for the common good.
I have no pride of opinion concerning the manner in which the education
of those whom I have brought to your notice shall be secured; although I
might derive satisfaction from the reflection that, amid abundant misrepresentations of the method suggested, no one has contended that it would be
ineffectual, nor has any other plan been proposed.  I observe, on the contrary, with deep regret, that the evil remains as before; and the question recurs, not merely how, or by whom, shall instruction be given, but whether
it shall be given at all, or be altogether withheld.  Others may be content
with a system that erects free schools and offers gratuitous instruction; but
I trust I shall be allowed to entertain the opinion that no system is perfect
that does not accomplish what it proposes; that our system is therefore deficient
in comprehensiveness in the exact proportion of the children that it leaves uneducated; that knowledge, however acquired, is better than ignorance; and that
neither error, accident, nor prejudice ought to be permitted to deprive the State of
the education of her citizens.
" Cherishing such opinions, I could not enjoy the consciousness of having discharged my dutyif any effort had been omitted which was calculated
to bring within the schools all who are destined to exercise the rights of citizenship; nor shall Ifeel that the system is perfect, nor liberty safe until that object
be accomplished. Not personally concerned about such misrepresentations as
have arisen, but desirous to remove every obstacle to the accomplishment of
so important an object, I very freely declare that I seek the education of
those whom I have brought before you, not to perpetuate any prejudices or
distinctions which deprive them of instruction, but in disregard of all such
distinctions and prejudices.  I solicit their education, less from sympathy,
than because the welfare of the State demands it, and cannot dispense with
it. As native citizens they are born to the right of suffrage.  I ask that
they may, at least, be taught to read and write; and in asking this, I require
no more for them than I have diligently endeavored to secure to the inmates
of our penitentiaries, who forfeited that inestimable franchise by crime, and
also to an unfortunate race which, having been plunged by us into degradation and ignorance, has been excluded from  the franchise by an arbitrary
property qualification incongruous with all our institutions.  I have not recommended, nor do I seek, the education of any class inforeign languages, or in
particular creeds of faith; but fully believing, with the author of the Declaration of Independence, that even error may be safely tolerated where reason
is left free to combat it, and therefore indulging no apprehension from the




THIRD PERIOD.-ADVANCEMENT.                     109
influence of any language or creed among an enlightened people, I desire the
education of the rising generation in all the elements of knowledge we possess,
and in the tongue which is the universal language of our countrymen.
" To ME THE MOST INTERESTING OF ALL OUR REPUBLICAN INSTITUTIONS
IS THE COMMON SCHOOL. I seek not to disturb, in any manner, its peaceful
and assiduous exercises, and least of all with contentions about faith orforms. I
desire the education of all the children in the commonwealth in morality and virtue, leaving matters of conscience where, according to the principles of civil and
religious liberty established by our constitution and laws, they rightfully be.
long."
It is eminently due  to this great statesman, whose
long and patriotic services in the national councils, since
his retirement from   the executive chair  of his native
State, have endeared him  to the Republic as one of its
most honored and  cherished  sons, to  say, in  this connection, that none of his distinguished predecessors in
the  Executive Department manifested  greater interest
or a  more enlightened  appreciation  of our system  of
public  instruction  than  himself.   During a period of
more than ordinary political excitement, his views were,
to a considerable extent, misinterpreted and misunderstood; but the lapse of time, and a more impartial and
dispassionate judgment, have abundantly vindicated the
soundness  of his principles and  the purity and  elevation  of his motives.   He is still among us-a veteran
voyager, in the decline of a long and useful life, over
the vast continents of the new  and  old world —a welcome  visitor alike  in  the  remotest  territories  of the
United  States, in Mexico, and in  China; and long may
he survive to enjoy a fame and a  respect unrestricted
by  geographical limits,  and  confined to  no  nationalities in the circuit of the civilized world!
The annual report of the Superintendent presented
the  following condition  of the financial affairs  of the
system:




110                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
Amount of public money apportioned by the State from  the
avails of the Common School and U. S. Deposit Funds..  $275,000 00
An equal amount raised by the Board of Supervisors of the
respective counties..................................    275,000  00
Amount raised by voluntary tax in towns...................     5,869 22
Received from the proceeds of local funds..................    20,531 65
Balance of unexpended funds of preceding year.............       1674 91
Amount raised under special statutes in New York, Brooklyn,
Albany, and Buffalo.................................       86,192 19
Total amount of public money..................  $664,294 97
The falling off during the year reported, in the amount raised by voluntary taxation in the several towns, was upward of $50,000, owing, unquestionably, to the great increase of the public fund.
The expenditures for the year reported (1889) were as follows:
From the public money apportioned and paid..............  $535,429 79
From   parents on  rate-bills...............................  476,443  27
Total amount expended for teachers' wages........ $1,011,873 06
The contributions of the inhabitants of districts on rate-bills were also
less by more than $49,000 than that of the preceding year.
Adding to the total amount thus expended for teachers'
wages, the interest on school buildings, expense of repairs, fuel, stationery, text-books, collectors' fees, and
compensation of commissioners and inspectors.........    913,458 00
And the total amount expended for all purposes in the sup-    -
port of schools for the year 1839 was.................. $1,924,331 06
The  average  wages  of  male  teachers  had  risen  to
$18, and  of females to  $6, per month, which the Superintendent regards as "very  gratifying."
With  the  view  of  ascertaining  the  practical  operation  of the academical departments for the instruction
of teachers, the Superintendent had delegated the Rev.
Dr. POTTER,  of  Union  College,  and  D.  H.  LITTLE,
Esq., of  Otsego, personally  to   examine  these   departments  and  report as  to their  condition  and  efficiency
for the  purposes  of  their  establishment.  Both  gentlemen  submitted  favorable reports  as  to  the  value   and
fidelity   of  the  duties  performed  and  the  results  obtained  in  these  institutions.   Professor  POTTER,  how



THIRD PERIOD.-ADVANCEMENT.              111
ever, suggested that valuable  as were, undoubtedly,
the benefits thus secured, other and still more efficient
agencies might be devised' for training  a class of
teachers with more especial reference to country Common Schools and to  primary  schools in  villages and
cities —teachers whose  attainments should  not extend
much beyond the common English branches, but whose
minds should be awakened by proper influences —who
should  be made familiar by practice  with  the best
modes of teaching-and who should come under strong
obligations to teach for at least two or three years. In
Prussia and France, normal schools are  supported  at
the public expense; most of the pupils receive  both
board and tuition gratuitously, but at the close of the
course they give bonds to refund the whole amount received unless they teach  under the direction  of the
government for a certain number of years.  That such
schools, devoted exclusively to the preparation of teachers, have some advantages over every other method, is
sufficiently apparent from  the experience of other nations; and it has occurred to me that, as a supplementary
to our present system, the establishment of one in this State
might be eminently useful. If placed under proper auspices,
and located near the Capitol, where it could enjoy the supervision of the Sltperintesdent of Common  Schools, and be
visited by the memnbers of the Legislature, it might contribute in many ways to raise the tone of instruction
throughout the State."
The Superintendent expressed  his conviction that
these academical departments ought not to be abandoned, but should  be sustained and encouraged, and
their number increased. He observes:
"The standard of instruction in their vicinity has been raised, the
desire for competent instructors has increased, their wages have ad



112                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
vanced, the demand for them has augmented, and a general influence in
favor of primary education, of the most salutary character, has been diffused."
"Normal schools," he continues, "which are so strongly urged by some,
must, after all, be essentially like these departments and the academies in
which they are established. There must be a board of managers or trustees,
teachers, a building, books, and apparatus. These are already furnished by
the existing academies; and there can be no intrinsic defect in them which
should prevent their being made as useful as any normal school.  The
change of name will not change the real nature of the institution. The
sum of money which would be requisite to purchase ground, erect buildings for one normal school, and fit them for the purpose, would enable at
least ten academies to maintain similar schools in buildings already prepared, and under managers already organized.  The Superintendent does
not mean to underrate those schools, nor to depreciate the benevolent motives of those who recommend them. He acknowledges, and, indeed, earnestly urges, the inestimable value and absolute necessity of institutions in
which our youth may be prepared for the business of teaching. But he
would use the means we already have on hand for the purpose, without incurring, what seems to him, the needless expense of providing others of a
similar character. He would respectfully recommend the extension of the
public patronage to all the academies in the State, to enable them to establish
teachers' departments; and in those counties where there are no academies, the
establishment of normal schools."
The   number  of  volumes in  the   several  district
libraries was 422,459, and the amount of library money
expended  for this  purpose  during  the  year 1840 —the
first year after its distribution —was $94,998.56. The selections of books-chiefly  from   the  series  published  by
the Messrs.. HARPER  &  BROTHERBS —were in  all respects
admirable  and  satisfactory  to  the  Superintendent, to
whose judgment the works were submitted.  The Superintendent observes:
" It is impossible to contemplate the fruits already realized from this
part of our system of public instruction, without the highest gratification.
The circulation of half a million of valuable books among our fellow citizens, without charge and without price, is a greater benefaction to our race
than would be the collection in any one place of ten times the number of
volumes.  And when we reflect that in five years there will be two millions
of such books in free and constant circulation among those who most need
them, and who are most unable to procure them-whose minds will thus
be diverted from frivolous and injurious occupations, and employed upon




THIRD PERIOD.-ADVANCEMENT.                           113
the productions of the learned and wise of all ages-we shall find ourselves
unable to set bounds to the mighty influences that will operate upon the
moral and intellectual character of our State. No philanthropist, no friend
of his country and her glorious institutions, can contemplate these results,
and the incalculable consequences they must produce upon a population of
nearly three millions of souls, without blessing a kind Providence for casting our lot where the cultivation and improvement of the human mind are
so eminently the objects of legislative care, or without feeling that every
citizen in his station is bound to forward the great work, until we are as intelligent as we are free."
" In reference to the improvement of the Common Schools, the Superintendent has various suggestions to make. *  *  *  Public instruction, like
every other institution of our country, depends on the voluntary action of
the people. Laws may be passed and systems devised, but they will have
no vitality until put in motion by those for whom and on whom they are to
operate. Time is essential not only to the full comprehension of any system
on such a subject, but also to accommodate ourselves to its requirements,
and to form those habits which are necessary to its complete execution. And
in the enterprise of voluntary public instruction by a whole community, a
generation may well be required to give it efficiency. Those who are impatient for that high degree of improvement which, all hope, will ultimately
crown our efforts, incur the hazard of exciting despondency, when they overlook or depreciate what has been done, and represent the labor of twentyfive years as nugatory. Justice to the subject, as well as to those who have
preceded us, requires that we should examine the authentic accounts of our
progress, and ascertain what it really has been.
" In 1815, returns were received from 2,631 districts, in which there were
140,706 children instructed.  In 1840, 10,897 districts sent in their reports,
showing  that 572,995 children had  attended  their schools.  In 1815,
$46,398 were paid from the treasury toward defraying the compensation of
teachers, and in 1840, $220,000 were paid from the same source for the same
purpose. By a previous statement it appears that the people have contributed in taxes for the support of schools $275,000, and that they have voluntarily paid in sustaining them $913,458-making a total of $1,188,458, contributed by a population of 2,432,000, of whom, probably, not one-sixth
were either taxed or in any way called on to share in those expenses. A
people who have thus freely expended their money, and appropriated their
private means for the education of their children, to an amount nearly
double the expense of administering their government, cannot, with any
truth or justice, be said to be indifferent to the subject. And when we find
thirty thousand trustees of school districts gratuitously rendering their services, and making their returns with order, regularity, and promptitude, we
ought not to deny their appreciation of the value of the labor in which
they engage, nor their merit in performing it.  It is no slight proof of the
value of a system which is thus administered without compulsion. Its fruits
are seen in the education of one-fourth of our entire population, and of
8




114                COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
nearly every child of a proper age for the primary schools; in the advance
of the wages paid to teachers-a clear indication that a higher degree of
talent is employed and appreciated; and in the interest almost universally
excited among our fellow citizens of every class in the success of our
efforts.
" Still, like every human institution, it is susceptible of constant improvement.  This is not to be accomplished by sudden changes which derange
the machinery, and which, when effected, will probably be found to require
alteration; and least of all, by those schemes which are so comprehensive
as to be incapable of practical execution. Amendments, when experience
has indicated their necessity, may be gradually incorporated in the system
without obstructing it and the introduction of new elements to aid, invigorate, and sustain what we have, and in keeping with it, will be more likely
to accomplish their purpose than if they were antagonistic to what is already
established.
" The great object of our solicitude is the elevation of the standard of
education. Although so many children are learning to read and write and
cipher, yet, with such means as are provided, they ought to learn much more.
How is this to be accomplished? In the judgment of the Superintendent,
mainly by the action of public opinion, and to some, although a very
limited, extent, by legislation.  The first requisite is the employment of teachers who can impart a greater amount and a higher degree of instruction. That
such are to be found in our State no one can doubt. But they must be induced to present themselves by the same considerations which influence all
men in their pursuits-the respectability of the employment and the certainty of adequate remuneration. Both of these depend upon public sentiment. If the community be not awakened to a sense of the value and dignity of the vocation, and are not prepared to do it justice, no system of organization, however perfect, and no amount of public beneficence expended
upon the schools, will call into action the requisite qualifications. Indeed,
the bounty of government will retard, if it do not paralyze, those spontaneous
efforts which spring from a conviction of their necessity. If the citizen supposes that the public treasury will provide the means of employing teachers,
he will have no solicitude on the subject, and one of the great principles
of human action implanted in the heart of man-that which places his affections where his treasure is-ceases to operate.  He will abandon the care
of the whole matter to those who have undertaken to provide for its expense."
Intelligent agitation of the public mind —" the great
moving power of modern times " —is, then, in his judgment, primarily to be resorted to; and for this purpose
he renews his recommendation  of the  establishment of
a journal to be exclusively devoted to the interests of




THIRD PERIOD.-ADVANCEMENT.                       115
primary education, and to be sent to every district at
the public expense.   As  the  official organ  of the department,  for  the   communication  of  instruction  to
school officers of every  grade,  respecting  the  general
and specific duties, and an exposition of the laws in
controverted  cases,  and  as a general  medium   of information  to  teachers,  parents,  and  pupils,  such  a
journal, in his opinion, would prove eminently serviceable to the inhabitants, officers, and teachers of the
several districts.' The appointment of local superintendents," he continues, "would also
have a most beneficial effect upon public sentiment. The information they
could communicate, and the views they might present in public addresses,
and the associations they might form, could not fail to imbue the public
mind with the importance of good schools, and with the necessity of individual effort to sustain them. The whole subject would be made familiar to
the people; they would come to understand that it was one in which they
were most interested, and their zeal would be as effectually exerted as it has
been by similar means on other topics of social interest.
"Weighty as these considerations are, in favor of local superintendents,
there are others which are perhaps still more impressive. A regular supervision is indispensable to the success of every public or private undertaking.
There is not a department of the Government which is not subject to some
direct and immediate control, and no individual appoints an agent for the
management of any business without reserving and exercising a superintendence over him. Conscious of the absolute necessity of such a provision in
the Common School system, the framers of the law endeavored to secure it
by the election of town inspectors. But the object has not been obtained.
The official reports show to what extent even the duty of simple visitation
has been neglected. And when the nature of these visitations is considered,
it will be obvious that if they were as frequent as might be desired, they
could not accomplish the great purpose in view. To be of any avail, the
inspection of schools must be conducted by those who are competent to
judge of the qualifications of the teacher, and of the progress of the pupils,
by examinations in the different studies pursued, and to suggest such improvements and modifications as will enable the student to derive the greatest amount of benefit from the schools. And time must be devoted not only
to the schools and their masters, but to the trustees and inhabitants. It is
no disparagement to our fellow-citizens usually chosen inspectors, to say that
generally they have not themselves acquired the knowledge of the subject
which is necessary to qualify them for the discharge of these duties; and it




116                COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
is very certain that they have not the time to bestow in their performance.
As just and proper links connecting the schools with the people, and as useful auxiliaries to a county superintendent, I am convinced, upon further
reflection, that they ought to be retained.
"All writers on public education concur in the unanimous and decided opinion, that effectual supervision and inspection are more essential to the proper
management of schools, arnd more indispensable to their improvement, than any
other agency, or all agencies combined; and the Superintendent does not hesitate to express his conviction that, until they are provided, all efforts to
improve the condition of the schools, or to extend the range and elevate the
character of the instruction in them, will be utterly hopeless; and he seriously apprehends that, instead of advancing, they will retrograde, and that
we shall lose much of what we now have. M. Cousin, the celebrated author
on popular education, attributes the success of the schools in Holland almost
entirely to the constant and unremitting inspection to which they are continually subjected; and demonstrates that wherever schools have failed in
other countries to meet the public expectation in the degree and amount of
instruction, it has been owing to the want of such supervision.
On  the  26th  of May, the Legislature, by  a  nearly
unanimous vote in both branches, passed the act drawn
up by Mr. SPENCER, and reported by the literature committees of the two  houses, providing  for the appointment by  the  Board  of Supervisors  of each  county of
the State, biennially, of a  COUNTY  SUPERINTENDENT of
Common Schools, whose duties and powers were specifically prescribed, and who was charged with the general
supervision and inspection of the schools within his jurisdiction.  The number of town inspectors was reduced
to two; provision made for the establishment of schools
for the instruction of colored children; a subscription
for as many  copies of the  "District School Journal,"
edited by  FRANCIS  DWIGHT, of Geneva, as would  be
sufficient to  supply  each  school district;  and  various
minor amendments in the details of the system  made.
In accordance with one of the provisions of the act,
S. S. RANDALL, of Albany, then a clerk in the department, was appointed, by Mr. SPENCER, General Deputy
Superintendent of Common  Schools, with power to  dis



THIRD PERIOD.-ADVANCEMENT.          1l1
charge all the duties of the Superintendent in his
absence, or in case of any vacancy in the office.
Eight additional academies were designated by the
Regents of the University, in which departments for
the education of teachers were to be established, viz..
Hamilton Academy, Madison county; Hobart Hall Institute, Oneida county; Rensselaer Oswego Academy,
Oswego county; Franklin Academy, Steuben county;
Fredonia Academy, Chautauqua county; the Grammar
School of Columbia College and the University, in the
city of New York; and Washington Academy, Washington county-making twenty-three in all.
In October of this year, Mr. SPENCER was transferred to a seat in the cabinet as Secretary of War,
and his official duties as Superintendent temporarily
devolved upon the General Deputy.
From the annual report of that officer, in January,
1842, it appeared that an increase of 30,588 pupils in
the several Common Schools had taken place during
the year reported (1840); that the aggregate amount
expended for the support of the schools, including the
public money, the sum raised by county and town taxation, special statutes in cities, local funds, contributions on rate-bills, fuel, repairs of school buildings,
text-books, &c., exceeded the sum of $2,000,000, of which
$99,000 were expended in the purchase of books for the
several district libraries, and $483,479.54 in the payment of rate-bills; and that the number of volumes
in the libraries was 630,125, upward of two thousand
having been added during the past year.  The entire
capital of the Common School fund had now reached
the sum of $5,819,947.98. County Superintendents had
been appointed in each of the counties of the State,
and had entered upon the discharge of their respective




118            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
duties with spirit and efficiency. In the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Brooklyn, Troy, Utica, and Hudson,
the public schools had been organized under special
statutes, larger and commodious school buildings erected, a specific course of instruction adopted, and city
superintendents appointed by the respective boards of
education or common councils, charged with the general supervision and inspection of the schools. In many
of the larger villages of the State, union and high
schools had been  established, and were in successful
operation.




SECTION II.-THE RELIGIOUS CONTROVERSY IN THE CITY OF
NEW  YORK-I 840 to 1842.
application of Trustees of Catholic Free Schools to the  Common
Council.-Remonstrance of the Public School Society.-Decision
of the Common  Council.-Application  to the Legislature.Report of Secretary Spencer.-Reply of Commissioners of School
Money.-Message of Governor Seward.-Report of the Acting
Superintendent of Common Schools.-Establishment and Organization of the fVard School System.-Exclusion of Sectarian
Teaching.-Recognition  of the Christian  Scriptures, without
Note or Comment.
ARLY  in 1840, application  was made by the trustees of the several Roman Catholic free schools in
the city of New  York, in conjunction with the prominent and most influential members, clerical and lay, of
that religious body, for an equal participation of their
schools with those of the Public School Society in the
distribution of the public funds provided by the State
for educational purposes.  The petitioners represented
themselves  as dissatisfied  with  the  organization  and
management of the Public  School Society, which had
been  hitherto allowed  to  monopolize the business of
public instruction in the city and to control its funds,
wholly independent of the interests and wishes of the
tax-payers, and  regardless of the  conscientious scruples and religious convictions of a large proportion of
the citizens; that although the Society belonged to no
particular religious denomination, and did not professedly  attempt to  teach  directly  the  distinctive creeds
of any particular sect, still its schools were practically




120            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
sectarian, and its books and general tone of instruction
so  strongly  biased in favor of Protestantism, that
nearly eight thousand children under the charge of the
petitioners, and  with  whose  secular education they
desired to combine daily instruction in the principles of
their own faith, were  prevented, from  conscientious
scruples, from  participating  in their benefits, though
the petitioners, and those  entertaining similar views
with themselves, were heavily taxed for their support.
To  these allegations the  Trustees of the Public
School Society responded, that so far from  constituting
a monopoly, as asserted by the petitioners, their association was open, under the provisions of the law by
which it was created, to every citizen contributing the
small sum  of ten dollars to its corporate funds; that
the administration of those funds and of the system  of
instruction committed to their charge was placed under
the most strict supervision by and responsibility to the
city and State authorities, and was open to public inspection and scrutiny at all times; that after an official
visitation of their schools, and a thorough examination
of their discipline, conduct, and methods of instruction,
by officers appointed for that special purpose by the
Superintendent of Common Schools, that public functionary had himself borne the most explicit testimony
to their efficiency and value; that the utmost pains had
been uniformly taken to eliminate from their course of
study, from  their text-books, and from the instruction
communicated to their pupils, every taint of sectarianism; and that, from  the constitution of the religious
body to which the petitioners belonged, and whose special views they represented, the distinctive tenets and
peculiar faith of Roman Catholicism  must unavoidably
enter as a prominent element into their system  of in



THIRD PERIOD.-ADVANCEMENT.             121
struction, thereby contravening the entire educational
policy of the State as declared in its fundamental law,
and  the repeated decisions of the Common Council,
whenever this question had heretofore been presented
for their consideration.
A full hearing of all parties interested was had before the Common Council. The great importance of the
principles involved in the discussion, the respectability
and powerful influence of the petitioners, the interests
involved in its final decision, and the talent enlisted
on both sides, gave to the controversy a character of
peculiar gravity and excitement. During its progress,
large public meetings were called for the discussion of
its merits, the press of the city took an active interest
in  its determination and in the principles involved,
and the pulpits of the various religious sects faithfully
reflected the views and wishes of their respective congregations.  The two most prominent and conspicuous
champions of the conflicting parties to the controversy
were the late Archbishop (then Bishop) HUGHIES and
1HIRAM KETCHUM, Esq.
The Common Council, by a nearly unanimous vote
in both branches, declined to entertain the application
of the petitioners, and re-affirmed the principles established by its decision in 1824 and again in 1832, "that
the school fund of the State was purely of a civil character, designed for civil purposes, and that the intrusting of it to religious or ecclesiastical bodies was a violation of an elementary principle," only to be departed
from  in the case of orphan asylums under the charge
of such religious bodies.
Undismayed by the repulse they had thus again sustained, the applicants promptly transferred the scene of
conflict from  the Common Council to the State Legis



122            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM
lature. During the session of that body in 1840, several
memorials were presented from large numbers of Roman
Catholic citizens of New York, setting forth that the
legislative enactments on the subject of public instruction in that city required, in the judgment of the
memoralists, a fundamental alteration, to bring the
benefits of Common School education within the reach
of all classes of the population; that the original intent
of those enactments was to enable every school which
should comply with the law to share in the Common
School Fund; that this design has been defeated by the
construction  put upon the statutes by the Common
Council of the city, in designating the Public School
Society to receive nearly the whole amount of that fund
belonging to the city; that this Society, being a corporation, had acquired the entire control of the system
of public education; that the tax-payers who contribute
to the fund had no voice in the selection of those who
administer the system, or control over the application
of the public moneys.  They deprecated the influence
of such a corporation as dangerous and detrimental to
the public interests; and complained of injustice to
those whose conscientious scruples had, as they alleged,
been disregarded in the system of instruction adopted by
the Society. They represented that there were other
schools in the city equally entitled to participate in the
bounty of the State, but which, with nearly eight thousand children, were excluded from  any of its benefits
under the existing system; and prayed that every school
established by the taxable inhabitants of the city might
be entitled to a distributive share of the public school
moneys, and that the control and administration of the
system itself might be placed in charge of persons chosen
by the electors and taxable inhabitants of the city.




THIRD PERIOD.-ADVANCEMENT.            123
These memorials, together with the remonstrances
of the trustees and members of the Public School Society and others, were referred, toward the close of the
session, to the Secretary of State (Mr. SPENCER), who,
for want of time, was unable to report until the ensuing year.  In his annual report as Superintendent of
Common Schools, however, of the same year, he had
alluded to this subject in connection with the number
of children in the State, not included in the official
reports, as under instruction  in the public schools:
"There are free schools," he observes, "attached to
each of the seven Roman Catholic churches, at which
more than five thousand children are taught six hours
in each day. Although established by a particular denomination, they are open to all children without discrimination, and are, in fact, attended by those of
different denominations.  These are supported by the
voluntary bounty of their pious and charitable founders.
They do not participate in the distribution of the school
fund, and consequently are not included in any return.
It is known that other denominations have large free
schools supported in a similar manner and without aid
from  the school fund; but none of them are supposed
to be so numerous as those above mentioned."  After
stating  that  upward  of a hundred  and  forty-one
thousand dollars had been raised during the preceding
year in that city, by local taxation, independently of
$34,172.47  of the public money apportioned  to the
schools, he continues: "It would seem but just that;
all who contribute, directly or indirectly, to this fund,
and especially those who paid their share of the taxes:
laid to obtain it, should participate in its benefits. The
Common Council of New York has full power to apply
the remedy and to apportion the public money among




124             COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEI.
the free schools established by all the different denominations."  He accordingly suggests a legislative provision, applicable to the entire State, authorizing the
local authorities charged with the distribution of the
public  money in  the  several cities to  apportion  it
among the free schools and  orphan asylums, according  to  the number  of  children  instructed  in  each
for the period of four months in each year.  "Independent of considerations of humanity," he observes,
"independent of' the  obligations which rest on us as
Christians, we have all a deep stake, as members of the
same civil community, in the instruction of the destitute, who are destined either to become useful members
of society, or to fill its prisons."
At the ensuing session of 1841, the memorials and
remonstrances of the respective parties to the controversy were renewed-the message of Gov. SEWARD, as
well as that  of the preceding year, having, as will
already have been seen, taken strong ground in behalf
of the general claim set forth by the petitioners to an
equal participation in the bounty of the State. These
petitions and remonstrances were again referred by the
Senate to Secretary SPENCER, who, on the 26th of April,
made an elaborate report, from which, notwithstanding
the space they occupy, it has been deemed expedient,
not only from the great interest of the topics discussed,
and the vital importance of the principles involved, but
from  the signal ability displayed in the treatment of
the subject, to present liberal extracts.
After setting forth the principal allegations of the
memorialists, the Secretary proceeds:' At the last session, memorials of a similar character from a large number of Roman Catholic citizens of New York were referred to the undersigned, upon which he was unable, during that session, to report. Although




THIRD  PERIOD.-ADVANCEMENT.                       125
these petitioners have the same equal and common rights with all other
citizens to submit their grievances to the Legislature, and ask for redress,
yet the circumstance of presenting themselves in the character of a religious denomination is, in itself, unfavorable to that impartial consideration of
the subject which its importance demands. The hazard is incurred of giving to a question broad as the whole territory of our State, and comprehending all its inhabitants, an aspect of peculiarity, as if it concerned only those
who preferred their complaints. But great injustice would be done to the
subject by this mode of considering it. It embraces interests vital to the
well-being of the whole community: it involves the destiny of thousands of
the children of the Republic who are hereafter to take their share in the
management of its affairs, and are to become good citizens or miserable outcasts-who are to sustain the laws, and assist in the preservation of peace
and good order, or to fill our dungeons and prisons, and occupy our
scaffolds. In the contemplation of such results, the denominations and parties into which society is divided, cannot be regarded, except so far as a just
and well-ordered government is bound to protect, equally and impartially,
the civil and political rights of all."
The Secretary proceeds to review the history of the
legislation  in reference to the apportionment and distribution  of the  public  money in  the city  of New  York,
and  of the organization  and  subsequent proceedings of
the Public  School Society, which we have had occasion
heretofore to chronicle in detail.
" Thus," he continues, "by the joint operation of these various acts, and
the ordinances of the Common Council, designating the schools of the
Society as the principal recipients of those moneys, the control of the public
education of the city of New York, and the disbursement of nine-tenths of
the public moneys raised and apportioned for schools, were vested in this
corporation. It is a perpetual corporation, and there is no power reserved
by the Legislature to repeal or modify its charter. * * * *
"In the last report of the commissioners for school money in the city and
county of New York, dated in July, 1840, it is stated that the number of
schools subject to the visitations of the commissioners has increased to 115;
of these, 98 are under the direction of the Public School Society. The same
report states that the average number of scholars on the registers of these
schools, during the year, was 22,955, and the number in average attendance
13,189. This great disparity is accounted for by the absences and irregular
attendance of the pupils."
After stating the testimony borne by the report of
the visitors appointed by him   as Superintendent, under




126                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
the  authority  of law, to  the  commodious  school buildings, good   teachers,  excellent  system   of  instruction,
and efficient supervision provided by the society, he
says:
"Certain it is that the trustees have exhibited the most praiseworthy
zeal and devotion in the discharge of the great trust devolved on them; and
many, if not all of them, have spared no exertions to bring into their schools
the destitute children of the city.
"Notwithstanding these favorable results, the memorials referred to the
undersigned complain of the operation of a system which, in fact, >devolveg
upon any private corporation the discharge of one of the most important
functions of the government without that responsibility to the people which
is provided in all other cases. They allege that, in its administration, the
conscientious opinions and feelings of large classes of citizens are disregarded; that other schools, maintained for the same objects, and accomplishing
the same benevolent results, are arbitrarily excluded from all participation in
a common fund collected by the joint contributions of all; and that a fearfully large portion of the indigent children are not reached, or in any way
benefited, by the system of public education which now prevails. These are
objections of the most weighty character, and cannot be overlooked by
those whose duty and inclination alike prompt them to regard the greatest
good of the greatest number. The merits of the Public School Society, the
devotion and energy of its trustees, and the success of its schools, cannot
and ought not to prevent an investigation to ascertain whether it is not necessarily limited in its operations- whether it accomplishes the main purpose of its organization-or whether its continuance violates essential and
fundamental principles, and thus presents a perpetual source of irritation
and complaint. The question to be determined is far more broad and comprehensive than the merits of any particular society. It involves the inquiry
whether the intentions of the Legislature have been fulfilled, to furnish the
means of education'to all those who are destined to exercise the rights of
citizenship.'' There are numerous other schools in the city of New York, founded by
voluntary associations, in which many thousands of the children of poverty
and distress receive their education, imperfect and deficient as it may be in
many instances. By a participation in the funds intended for the benefit of all,
their means of extending the sphere of their usefulness will be augmented;
and by extending to all who desire to exercise it the right of participating in the same means, new schools may be established, and temples of
education be made as numerous as the nurseries of vice. It can scarcely
be necessary to say that the founders of these schools, and those who wish to
establish others, have absolute rights to the benefits of a common burthen;
and that any system which deprives them  of their just share in the application of a common and public fund must be justified, if at all, by a necessity




THIRD  PERIOD.-ADVANCEMENT.                           127.
which demands the sacrifice of individual rights for the accomplishment of
a social benefit of paramount importance. It is presumed no such necessity
can be urged in the present instance. On the contrary, the views which will
be subsequently presented afford strong ground for the belief that the education of a much larger number than now are, or under any circumstances
may be expected to be, provided for by the Public School Society, or any
one society, will be secured by inviting the co-operation and stimulating the
exertions of all who are disposed to engage in the enterprise.
"The complaint that in the schools of the Public School Society the conscientious opinions and feelings of our fellow-citizens are disregarded may, at
first, appear unreasonable.  But when it is considered that the best of men
adhere, with a tenacity proportioned to the strength and sincerity of their
convictions, to those principles of religious faith upon which, in their estimation, their present and eternal welfare depends, and that they regard as
the most sacred of duties the inculcation of those principles in the minds of
their children, we ought not to be surprised at their anxiety to exclude all
that is hostile to their views from the establishments to whose care they are
invited to commit the education of their offspring.  With many, the transmission of their own creeds to these objects of their affection is a part, and a
most essential part, of their own religious profession, and any influences
which interrupted it would be deemed by such an invasion of their most
sacred rights.
" Some of the memorialists complain that the tendency of the instruction
received in the schools of the Public School Society is unfavorable, if not
hostile, to those principles of faith whicih they hold dearer than life itself;
and they allege that, consistently with their views of religious duty to their
children, they cannot send them  to such schools.  On the other hand, those
who oppose any change in the present system express their apprehensions
that by allowing to all schools a free and equal participation in the school
moneys, the public funds will be applied indirectly, if not directly, to the
inculcation of religious dogmas of all descriptions; and some are peculiarly
apn)rehelsive of the possible ctlaei —/ll. o: certain doctrines which they deem
erroneous and injurious.  Thus the qutestion of sectarian influences is mutually raised, with its usual a,-ggravations. This is a question from the consideration of which some may feel disposed to shrink, from a vague and indefinite terror of the consequences of its discussion. But it is believed there is
a mode of considering it without participating in the feelings of any side,
but viewing all as having common and equal rights, and animated by the
same spirit of beneficence which will avoid conflict with every thing but
prejudice, and conduct to safe and salutary conclusions.
" According to the principles of our institutions, no one has the authority
to determine whether the religious doctrines and sentiments of any class of
our citizens be right or wrong.  The immunity of the Constitution and of an
unequivocal public sentiment is thrown around the religious faith and profession of all our citizens; and whether a particular creed is professed by a humble
minority or a powerful majority cantmake no other difference than to excite,




128                   COMIMON  SCHOOL  SYSTEM.
in the first case, the generous forbearance of those who may temporarily have
the physical power to oppress, and to animate them to the strictest fidelity to
their obligations.  The only object which our fellow-citizens can have is the
education of all the children of the commonwealth in literature, morality,
and virtue.' No system is perfect, nor can liberty be safe, until all who are
destined to exercise the rights of citizenship are brought within the schools.''.Knowledge, however acquired, is better than ignorance; and neither error, accident, nor prejudice ought to be permitted to deprive the State of the
education of her citizens.' These principles, recently promulgated by the
highest executive authority in our State, have received the cordial and
entire approbation of our fellow-citizens. In approaching the subject in
the same spirit which dictated them, and in endeavoring to reconcile prejudices, we must not ourselves commit the error of ascribing improper designs
or erroneous principles to others. If there be error, let reason be enlightened to
combat it, if there be prejudices, let the humanizing and liberalizing influences of
education be brought to bear upon it.  Let not error and prejudice be perpetuated
by being shut up and excluded from the light of science.
"The object, then, being to procure education at all events, if not the
best we could desire at first, yet to have education extended to all classes,
in the assured hope of its continual improvement, we are to maintain the
perfect equality of all our citizens in the enjoyment of their rights in determining the religious character of such instruction. Hence the first inquiry
to be made is, whether these rights can be maintained under a system
which vests in any permanent body or set of men the control of the public
education of a city?
"The great object to be attained is the education of the greatest number
possible. If we cannot, at once, have that education in the most perfect
form, or in the highest degree, still, much is accomplished in having the
good seed sown.  It will not only fructify, ripen, and expand. but it will enrich the soil in which it is cast, and each successive harvest will be more
rich and abundant than its predecessor. If the alternative be presented of
having a limited number of schools, in which instruction of the highest
grade is imparted, but from which one-half the proper subjects of education
are absent, or of having a large number of lower pretensions and less efficiency, but so organized and situated that all may attend, and affording
strong grounds for the belief that nearly all will be gathered within them,
it would seem that there ought to be no hesitation in the choice, and that
the portals of knowledge ought to be at once thrown open as widely as possible, with the certainty that improvement will follow the very first elements
of instruction.'I It is very true that the government has assumed only the intellectual
education of the children of the State, and has left their moral and religious
instruction to be given at the fireside, at the places of public worship, and
at those institutions which the piety of individuals may establish for the
purpose.  But it is believed that in a country where the great body ofourfellowcitizens recognize the fundamental truths of Christianity, public sentiment would




THIRD  PERIOD.-ADVANCEIIENT.                        129
be shocked by the attempt to exclude all instruction of a religious naturefrom the
public schools: and that any plan or scheme of education in which no reference
zwhatever was had to moral principles founded on these truths would be abandoned by all. In the next place, it is believed such an attempt would be
wholly impracticable.  No books can be found, no reading lessons can be selected,,which do not contain, more or less, some principles of religious faith, either
directly avowed or indirectly assumed.  RELIGION AND LITERATURE HAVE
BECOME INSEPARABLY INTERWOVEN, and the expurgation of religious sentiqients from the productions of orators, essayists, and poets, would leave them
utterly barren.
" Viewing the subject, then, practically, it may be regarded as a settled
axiom in all schemes of education intended for the youth of this country, that
there must be, of necessity, a very considerable amount of religious instruction.
The trustees of the Public School Society have, probably, no more in their
schools than could be well avoided. While they profess, and doubtless sincerely, their readiness to omit everything that may justly be regarded as
offensive, they yet maintain, and properly, that education is imperfect without
inculcating moral and religious principles; and hence they allow the READING
OF THE SCRIPTURES, or portions of tem, and INCULCATE THE LEADING
PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIANITY. But it is impossible to perceive how even
these principles can be taught, so as to be of any value, without inculcating
what is peculiar to some one or more denominations, and denied by others.
* * * Even the reading of the text of our common translation of the Scriptures is objected to by many, on account of its being, as they allege, erroneous and imperfect; while others deem its perusal by children, without explanation, positively injurious.  Even the moderate degree of religious
instruction which the Public School Society imparts, must, therefore, be
sectarian; that is, it must favor one set of opinions, in opposition to another
or others; and it is believed that this always will be the result in any course
of education that the wit of man can devise.
"If these views are sound, this dilemma is produced: that while some
degree of religious instruction is indispensable, and will be had, under all
circumstances, it cannot be impartial without partaking, to some extent, of
sectarian character, and giving occasion of offense to those whose opinions
are thus impugned. But, fortunately, there is a mode of escape from the
difficulty. That mode will be found in a recurrence to the fundamental
principles engrafted in our Constitution, by which no law can be passed,'respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof,' and by which'the free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession shall forever be allowed in this State to all mankind.' Those by whom
our government have hitherto been administered have found that practical
effect could be given to these principles only by scrupulously abstaining
from all legislation whatever on those subjects which involved, or were in
any way connected with, religious faith, profession, or instruction; and in
this course of proceeding the people have found such a safeguard against
oppression-such a security against the dissensions and animosities of intol9




130                   COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
erance and bigotry-and such a gauranty of peace and tranquillity-that it
has been constantly, and under all vicissitudes, unanimously approved by
them.
" On this principle of what may be termed absolute non-intervention may
we rely to remove all the apparent difficulties which surround the subject
under consideration.  In the theory of the Common School law which
governs the whole State, except the city of New York, it is fully and entirely
maintained; and in the administration of that law, it is sacredly observed.
No officer, among the thousands having charge of our Common Schools,
thinks of interposing by any authoritative direction, respecting the nature or
extent of moral or religious instruction to be given in the schools. Its whole
control is left to the free and unrestricted action of the people themselves, in
their several districts. The practical consequence is, that each district suits
itself, by having such religious instruction in its school as is congenial to the
opinions of its inhabitants; and the records of this department have been
searched in vain for an instance of a complaint of any abuse of this authority in any of the schools out of the city of New York. *  * * * * It is manifest that the great source of the difficulties in New York arises from a violation of this principle. * * * * *
" If there is not entire fallacy in all these views-if the experience of
twenty-five years, derived from the school districts of the interior is not
wholly worthless-then the remedy is plain, practical, and simple.  It is by
adopting the principle of the organization that prevails in the other parts of
the State, which shall leave such parents as desire to exercise any control
over the amount and description of religious instruction which shall be
given to their children the opportunity of doing so. This can be effected
by depriving the present system in New York of its character of universality and exclusiveness, and by opening it to the action of smaller masses,
whose interests and opinions may be consulted in their schools, so that
every denomination may freely enjoy its "religious profession," in the education of its youth.
" To this plan objections have been made, that it would enable different
religious denominations to establish schools of a sectarian character, and
that thereby religious dissensions would be aggravated, if not generated.
It is believed to have been satisfactorily shown that there must be some degree of religious instruction, and that there can be none without partaking
more or less of a sectarian character; and that even the Public School Society has not been able, and cannot expect to be able, to avoid the imputation.  The objection itself proceeds on a sectarian principle; and assumes the
power to control that which it is neither right nor practicable to subject to
any domination. Religious doctrines of vital interest will be inculcated, not as
theological exercises, but incidentally, in the course of literary and scientific instruction; and who will undertake to prohibit such instruction?
"It is believed to be an error to suppose that the absence of all religious
instruction, if it were practicable, is a mode of avoiding sectarianism.  On




THIRD  PERIOD.-ADVANCEMENT.                      131
the contrary, it would be, in itself, sectarian; because it would be consonant to
the views of a particular class, and opposed to the opinions of other classes.
Those who reject creeds, and resist all efforts to infuse them into the minds
of the young before they have arrived at a maturity of judgment which
may enable them to form their own opinions, would be gratified by a
system which so fully accomplishes their purposes. But there are those who
hold contrary opinions; and who insist on guarding the young against the
influence of their own passions and the contagion of vice, by implanting in
their minds and hearts those elements of faith which are held by this class
to be the indispensable foundations of moral principles.  This description
of persons regard neutrality and indifference as the most insidious forms of
hostility. It is not the business of the undersigned to express any opinion
on the merits of those views.  His only purpose is to show the mistake of
those wl7  suppose they may avoid sectarianism by avoiding all religious instruction."
The Secretary proposes that the  schools and houses
of  the  Public  School  Society, together  with  its  admirable arrangement and  cpnstant  supervision,  should
be retained, and placed on an equal footing, in all respects, with other organizations. He regards it, however, as   "an  anomaly  wholly  unknown  in  any  other
department  of the  public  service, that a private  corporation, existing independently, not amenable in any
form   to  the  laws  or  to  the  Legislature, should  be
charged with what those laws  regard as a part of the
functions of the government —the disbursement of public  moneys at its own will and  pleasure-the  selection
of teachers, of whose qualifications it is the sole judge
-and  the  establishment and maintenance  of a  system
of public education according to its own ideas of propriety."
"However acceptable," he observes, " the services of such a society may
have been, in the first imperfect effort to establish Common Schools; however willing the people may have been to submit to an institution which
promised immediate benefit; and however praiseworthy and successful may
have been its efforts-yet it involves a principle so hostile to the whole
spirit of our institutions, that it is impossible it should be long sustained
amid the increased intelligence which its own exertions have contributed to
produce; especially when other and more congenial means of attaining the




132                COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
same objects have been pointed, out, and when, therefore, the necessity which
called it into existence has ceased. The public attention is now roused to
the subject; and many thousands of the citizens of New York demand the
right of controlling, through responsible public agents, the education of
their children, and the application of common funds to which they have
contributed for a common object. We must not forget that we live under a
government of the people before such a demand can be effectually resisted.
Procrastination and delay will only increase its urgency, render it more exacting, and multiply the difficulties of satisfying it. * * * It must
succeed, sooner or later; and it is the part of wisdom and of duty to yield
to that which is just in itself, promptly, and before agitation and excitement
deprive acquiescence of all merit.  We are not at liberty to say that our
fellow citizens who make this claim are incapable of performing the duty
which they would undertake.  Our constitutions admit their competency to
manage all the affairs of government; and the foundations of our whole
system must be overturned before we can deny to them the capacity to determine on the mode, manner, and extent of instruction to be given to their
offspring.
" And yet in this, as in every public business, the energies of the people
require a system to regulate and conduct them to the best results.  Such
a system, emanating from agents of their own selection, and maintained, controlled, and superintended by them, will command the confidence and invite
the co-operation of their constituents. This may be accomplished by the
choice of commissioners of Common Schools, in each ward of the city, who
should form a board, to which some degree of permanency may be given by
allowing the election of one-third each year-which board should take the
entire charge of the Common Schools of the city; receiving and disbursing
the public funds; establishing schools, and a system for their government
and inspection; and providing the means of testing the qualifications of
teachers.  They might be aided by a city superintendent, with such compensation as should secure the best talent and the whole time of the incumbent; and then leave the schools to the management of trustees chosen by
those who established them, and to the general laws of the State."
In  reply  to  this  able  and  masterly  report of the
Secretary, the  Public  School Society  and its  friends,
through  the  Commissioners of school moneys for the
city  of New  York, in  their annual report to  the  Superintendent, of May, 1841 (probably from  the  pen of
HIRAM  KETCKUIM, Esq.), entered into an elaborate  vindication  of the constitution and general administration
of the  Society —of the  system   of education  initiated
by them  and thus far successfully pursued, by the dis



THIRD PERIOD.-ADVANCEMENT.                     133
tinct admission  of the  Secretary himself and  of the
board  of visitors appointed by him  as Superintendent;
of its results as shown by the number of children annually  instructed  in  its hundred  schools;  and  of  its
entire  amenability  to  public  and  rigid  scrutiny  and
responsibility through  the Common Council, as the depositary  of the  entire control  of the  distribution  of
the  public  money  appropriated  to  its  support.   Its
superior claims upon the public confidence and regard
were  also  fully  conceded  by  the  proposition  of  the
Secretary  himself to  include  its  schools  and  all  its
property  as  a  portion  of the  new   organization  proposed:.  To the allegation  that "in  the administration
of the Society, the conscientious opinions and feelings
of large classes of citizens were disregarded, and that
other  schools  maintained  for  the  same  objects  and
accomplishing  the  same  benevolent results were arbitrarily  excluded  from   a  participation   of  a  common
fund  collected  by  the  joint  contribution  of all,"  the
Commissioners, after deprecating  the  indefiniteness of
general allegations of this nature, presenting no tangible  point for specific  examination, proceed  to infer
from  the discussions  and publications of the views of
the memorialists:
"That the violence imputed against conscientious opinions and feelings
is to those of a part of the Catholic communion, who alone constitute the
large classes of citizens alluded to; that the schools attached to their
churches, governed by trustees of their own appointment, conducted according to their precepts of religious faith, and ministering, as may well be inferred, to children only of their own denomination, are the schools said to be
maintained for the same objects and accomplishing the same benevolent results as those of the Public School Society; and that the arbitrary exclusion
from a participation in the common fund, collected by the joint contribution
of all, which is complained of, is the refusal by the immediate representatives
of the people of the city of New York to devote a portion of the public
moneys toward the support of schools erected and governed by the Catholic
denomination, and inculcating their distinguishing forms and creeds.




134                  COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
"That the objects and results of institutions," they continued,' founded
and acting upon principles so widely different as those which distinguish
the schools of the sect and those of the Society, cannot be very similar, is
too apparent to need illustration; and if the disregard of the conscientious
opinions and feelings of large classes of citizens, in the administration of
the Society, consists, as is inferred, in maintaining a perfect impartiality
toward the several denominations in the schools-not giving reasonable
offense, nor yielding submission to any-the Society has done no more than
to be faithful to the purposes for which it was created. The motive to its
incorporation is stated in the charter to be the education of all children,
without regard to the religious sect or denomination to which their parents
belong; and it would have been a plain infraction of their duty to fashion
the exercises of the schools according to the requirements of any particular
church.
" The allegation remains that the sect is arbitrarily excluded from a participation of a common fund collected by the joint contribution of all.
"In adopting a system of general education at the public expense, the
object of the State was to give to its youth such an education as would fit
them to discharge the civil obligations of this life, leaving it to their natural
and ecclesiastical guardians to prepare them, through a parental and spiritual ministry, to render their account in another world.  There ought to be,
and there must be, some common platform on which all the children who
are destined to act as citizens of the same republic may obtain their secular
education. To that general training all the children are entitled; but it is
the public who are to determine on its particulars and conditions, and not
the parents who may claim  it for their offspring.  That a fund has been
raised by the taxation of all, for general education, creates no right in the
tax-paying sectarian to demand that any portion of it be appropriated to
the spread of his particular creed.  The tax was imposed on him  as a
citizen, not as the member of a church.  Its object was to provide for a civil
purpose exclusively, not to prepare the path to any designated place of worship. / The erection- of a church school announces a sectarian object.  It has its
exclusive rules of system and government-is superintended by trustees and
teachers of a particular faith-and religious conformity is indispensable to a
participation in its direction, which is not and cannot be attained by means
of a civil qualification that any citizen may acquire.  It is, in truth, a part
of the church establishment; and the sectarian of another denomination
justly feels that hisprivileges are equally violated, whether he be taxed for the support ofits religious teachers at the school desk, or for that of its religious teachers
in the pulpit.  This State has never yet asserted the power to tax its people
for ecclesiastical objects; and if its sovereignty comprehends such a power,
the rights of conscience require that the religion of the tax-payer be recorded on
the assessment roll, and his contribution be dealt to the encouragement of his own
communion.
"The Commissioners would suggest that any difficulties in regard to
such religious education of the children as may be desirable can be removed




THIRD PERIOD.-ADVANCEMENT.                      135
without a violation of the principles or a departure from the objects of the
school system, by an application of the rule said to prevail in Holland in
regard to the schools controlled by the government. A time is there set
apart when the children of the respective denominations are requested to
repair to the appropriate places fbr their peculiar worship, where they are
attended by the proper ministers to their spiritual wants. If the Sabbath
and the other day in the week on which the public schools are generally
closed be insufficient for this purpose, some additional portion of the week
might be dedicated to it. The arrangement would, certainly, throw an additional burden on the clergy without additional pecuniary recompense; but
their commendable sense of duty in their sacred office would, no doubt, disregard any consideration of that sort."
The  Commissioners then  proceed  to  controvert the
allegation of the Secretary, that "a fearfully large portion  of  the  indigent  children  of  the  city  were  not
reached  or in  any way benefited"  by the  existing  system  of education.  They show, from  the official returns
of the  census of 1840, and  other  statistics, that  the
number of whites of the age of twenty and upward in
the entire State, unable to read or write, was 43,705, of
whom  7,778 resided  in  the city of New  York, and  the
remaining  35,927  in  the  rest  of the  State-being  an
excess of 1,732 only, in the city, out of a population of
313,000, over its due proportion in comparison with the
other counties,  other  circumstances  being  equal, and
no regard being had to the immense and constant augmentation of the former from  foreign immigration; and
conclude their report with  a searching  and  exhaustive
criticism of the measure proposed by the Secretary.
Governor SEWARD, in his message at the opening of
the session of 1842, after stating that 20,000 children in
the city of New York were, under the existing system of
apportionment, practically  unprovided  with  instruction,
thus indicates what he deems the appropriate remedy:
" Happily, in this as in other instances, the evil is discovered to have had..
its origin no deeper than a departure from the equality of general laws. I In
our general system of Common Schools, trustees, chosen by tax-paying citi



136                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
zens, levy taxes, build school-houses, pay teachers, and govern schools, which
are subject to visitation by similarly elected inspectors, who certify the
qualifications of teachers; and all schools thus constituted participate in just
proportion in the public moneys, which are conveyed to them by commissioners also elected by the people.    * * I submit, therefore, with entire willingness to approve whatever adequate remedy you may propose, the expediency of vesting in the people of the city of New York, what I am sure the
people of no other part of the State would, upon any consideration, relinquish-the education of their children. For this purpose, it is only necessary
to vest the control of the Common Schools in a board to be composed of commissioners elected by the people, which board shall apportion the school moneys
among all the schools, including those now existing, which shall be organized
and conducted in conformity to its general regulations and the laws of the
State, in proportion to the number of people instructed. It is not left doubtful that the restoration to the Common Schools of the city of this simple and
equal feature of the Common Schools of the State would remove every complaint.
" This proposition has, sometimes, been treated as a device to appropriate
the school funds to the endowment of seminaries for teaching languages and
faiths-thus to perpetuate the prejudices it seeks to remove-sometimes as a
scheme for dividing that precious fund among a hundred jarring sects, and
thus increasing the religious animosities it strives to heal-sometimes as a
plan to subvert the prevailing religion, and introduce one repugnant to the
consciences of our fellow-citizens; while, in truth, it simply proposes, by
enlightening equally the minds of all, to enable them to detect error wherever
it may exist, and to reduce uncongenial masses into an intelligent, virtuous,
harmonious, and happy people."
The acting Superintendent of Common Schools (S. S.
IRANDALL) transmitted  to  the  Legislature, with his annual report, copies of the reports of Secretary SPENCER
and  the  Commissioner of School Money of the city of
New  York, of the previous year, accompanied with the
following remarks:
"After the able and thorough discussion which this subject has received
from the highest official sources, it would be presumptuous as well as unnecessary for the undersigned, whatever may be the views which he entertains in
respect to it, to interpose any opinion. It is for the wisdom of the Legislature to determine to what extent, and in what mode, an effectual remedy can
be devised for the alleged disabilities of a numerous and respectable class of
citizens, with reference to the education of their children; whether these disabilities spring from a radical defect in the peculiar system of public instruction prevailing in the metropolis, or from a faulty administration of that




THIRD PERIOD. -ADVANCEMENT.                      137
system, which may be reached and corrected by means of a vigilant and efficient supervision; and whether the numerous excellences of the plan of
instruction connected with the schools of the Public School Society cannot be
retained, consistently with such a modification of the present law as shall
secure every practicable facility for the education of that large proportion of
children now withdrawn, from conscientious or other motives, from the advantages of these schools. The intelligence and discrimination of the people
and their representatives may safely be relied upon to separate the peculiar
aspect which this question has recently been made to assume, and the excitement in the public mind to which it has given birth, from those high considerations of public policy which an enlghtened regard to the paramount
interests of universal education and the welfare of the State imperiously
demand.
" Our republican institutions recognize no distinction between the professors of different religious creeds; our shores are hospitably open to the
inhabitants of every clime; and our systems of education were designed to
embrace within their comprehensive regard every child of the Commonwealth of an age sufficient to be benefited by their instruction. With this
view, and for this purpose, all our citizens, native and adopted, are called
upon to contribute to the expenses incident to the maintenance of those
systems, and all have an equal right to participate in their advantages. Any
exclusion, therefore, theoretical or practical, from those advantages, of any
portion of our citizens, in consequence, or as the result, of peculiar modifications of religious faith, or for any other reason unrecognized by our laws,
should, under no pretense, be suffered to exist. Such an exclusion has a
direct and powerful tendency to promote the prevalence of ignorance, and its
invariable attendants, wretchedness, vice, and crime; while, at the same time,
it sanctions the introduction of a new and fatal principle of public policy,
deliberately discarded by the wisdom of the framers of our Constitution."
The exciting controversy was finally settled by the
passage of an act on the 11th of April, 1842, "extending  the  provisions of the  general act  in  relation  to
Common Schools in  the city  of New  York,"  in accordance with  the  recommendations  of Mr.  SPENCER, by
whom  this act was drawn.  A  Board of Education, consisting of representatives from each ward, elected by
the  people, was  organized, upon  whom   was  devolved
the general administration  of the  system, comprehending  the  schools  of the  Public  School  Society-reserving  to  that body, however, the  exclusive  supervision
and direction of the schools under its charge-and  con



138            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
fiding the immediate administration of all others to
trustees elected in each ward for that purpose. By this
and subsequent enactments, the religious question was
definitely set at rest by a section providing that "No
school shall be entitled to or receive any portion of the
school moneys, in which  the  religious doctrines or
tenets of any particular Christian or other religious sect
shall be taught, inculcated, or practiced, or in which
any book or books containing compositions favorable or
prejudicial to the particular doctrines or tenets of any
particular Christian or other religious sect, or which
shall teach the doctrines or tenets of any religious
sect. * * But nothing herein contained shall authorize
the Board of Education to exclude the HOLY SCRIPTURES,
without note or comment, or any selections therefrom, from
any of the schools provided for in this act; but it shall
not be competent for the said Board of Education to
decide what version, if any, of the Holy Scriptures, without note or comment, shall be used in any of the
schools: Provided, that nothing herein contained shall
be so construed as to violate the rights of conscience
as secured by the Constitution of this State and of the
United States."  This provision  still remains in full
force on the statute book of the State.




SECTION III.-ADMINISTRATION OF SECRETARY SAMUEL YOUNG1842 TO I846.
Character of Col. Young.-State Convention of County Superintendents.
-State Normal School.-Teachers' Institutes.-academical Departments for  Teachers.-Messages of Governors Bouck and
Wright.-Mr. Hulburd's Report.-Favorahle Results of the
System of County Supervision.-Annual Reports of the Superintendent.-Condition of the Common Schools.-Organization of
the Normal School. — Offcial Correspondence.-  The Bible in
Schools.
ON  the  7th  of February, 1842, the  Hon. SAMUEL
YoUNG, of Saratoga, was appointed  Secretary  of
State and Superintendent of Common Schools, and entered at once on the administration of the newly reconstructed system, the outlines and principal details of
which had been prepared by his distinguished predecessor.  Col. YOUNG was, in many respects, an extraordinary
man.  Possessed  of a dignified and impressive appearance and demeanor, of statesmanlike abilities and experience, penetrating intellect, stern morality, he combined
with  a firm  will and  strong  prejudices the  utmost
suavity, warm-heartedness, and openness to conviction.
On assuming the duties of his office, he publicly avowed,
in his most trenchant manner, his thorough conviction
of the impolicy and inefficacy of the system  of county
supervision, and his fixed determination to effect its discontinuance.  He was, however, with much  difficulty,




140            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
induced by the friends of the system to be present at
the approaching Convention of Superintendents at Utica;
and after the deliberations and discussions of that body,
he promptly and decidedly retracted his former opinions,
and became, throughout his administration and subsequent public career, one of the strongest and most enthusiastic advocates of this plan of local supervision.
His social qualities were genial in the extreme-seldom,
however, descending to familiarity; his heart "open as
day to melting charity;" and his sympathies uniformly
with the destitute, the suffering, and the down-trodden.
On one occasion the author of this sketch was commissioned by him to convey a most liberal benefaction to
an accomplished young lady, to whom he was personally
unknown, who had forwarded to him  an affecting account of her struggles for the education of herself and
a younger sister, dependent upon her, and who, through
a concurrence of adverse circumstances, had incurred
liabilities beyond her ability to meet. Both her sister
and herself became, subsequently, teachers of superior
excellence; and she was the first to receive, from his
own hands, the highest grade of certificate prescribed by
law.  On another, he fearlessly braved the penalties of
the laws, both of the State and United States, in protecting from  arrest, under the Fugitive Slave Act, a
negro waiter at his boarding-house; and, in the presence of Chief Justice NELSON-and, it is believed, without special remonstrance from him-after having effectually secured the retreat of the frightened and trembling
victim of oppression, and divested himself of his coat,
he fearlessly and indignantly confronted the claimant,
who shrunk abashed from  the stern glance of his eye,
and determined attitude of resistance, and at once abandoned all further pursuit as hopeless. It has been said




THIRD PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.           141
he was at all times open to conviction; but if there was
one subject upon which no amount of argument, persuasion, or influence could move him from an inflexible
and persistent opposition, it was, unquestionably, what
he deemed the improvident and ruinous extension of the
popular system  of internal improvement by roads and
canals. On this topic he omitted no occasion, however
apparently inappropriate, to express his views, and denounce those of his opponents.
Col. YouNG's first appearance in public life was as a
member of the lower branch of the Legislature from the
county of Saratoga, at the session of 1814; of which
body he was elected Speaker in the ensuing year.  In
1816, he was appointed one of the Canal Commissioners,
which position he retained until 1840. In 1824, he became the Democratic candidate for Governor, against
Mr. CLINTON. In 1834, he was elected to the Senate
from the Fourth District; and in 1842, appointed Secretary of State. After the close of his official term, he
was again returned to the Senate, and from that body
retired to his farm in Saratoga, where, amid the quiet
seclusion of his "hereditary acres," he closed his long
and useful life.
Several petitions were forwarded to the Legislature,
during its session of this year, for the repeal of so much
of the Act of 1841 as related to the establishment of the
office of county superintendent - characterizing it as
"uncalled-for, unnecessary, useless, and expensive;" alleging that "its duties were as well, or better, performed by town inspectors;" and that "it was not
additional superintendence that was most wanted, but
money to pay competent and well-qualified teachers."
The Hon. WILLIAM B. MACLAY, of New York, Chairman
of the Assembly Committee on Colleges, Academies,




142            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
and Common Schools, to whom these petitions were referred, submitted, on the 2d of April, an able report adverse to the prayer of the petitioners, which was agreed
to by the House.
In this report, after adverting to the origin of the law,
in the report of the several county visitors, appointed
by Mr. SPENCER, and their statement that a large amount
of the public money was, under the then existing system, utterly wasted; that "from one-quarter to one-third
of the school children were daily absent;" that "more
than half of the school-houses were inconvenient, and
unfit for the purposes of education;" and that "a widespread and fatal apathy chilled the hopes of reform, and
clogged all efforts for improvement "-Mr. MACLAY expresses the conviction  of the committee that "the
withering want of our schools is not money to pay, but
intelligence to appreciate, and interest to sustain, the
competent teacher;" that "were our public fund increased until it afforded the means to hire a competent
teacher for every district, without the public mind being
simultaneously awakened to a juster estimate of the
importance of education, and the means of its diffusion,
our school-masters would soon sink into hirelings, and
become the exponents of the prevailing indifference and
faithlessness of the people.  We, therefore," he observes, "regard it as one of the most benign effects of
this system of supervision, that by its exposure of the
defects and evils of the schools, it must compel attention to the necessity of securing competent teachers."
After controverting the allegation of the petitioners of
the expensiveness of the system, by contrasting it, in
this respect, with the operation of its predecessors, he
proceeds:




THIRD  PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.                        143
" There is another view of this subject that should be kept before those
who fear the expense of supervision. No one will deny that a vigilant and
intelligent supervision of the schools is as essential to their operation as to
that of any branch of industry. Without careful oversight, no business can
flourish, no enterprise will prosper. This principle is understood and acted
on in all the common concerns of life. And if our Common Schools, instead
of being nurseries where five hundred and sixty-two thousand children daily
assemble to prepare themselves for usefulness and respectability, were each to
be converted into a workshop or manufactory, and the fruits of the labor thus
employed to constitute the revenues of the State, would not a vigilant and
thorough supervision be deemed indispensable to the successful prosecution
of the business? And need we urge the comparative value of an income to
the State of dollars and cents and an income of virtuous, intelligent, and
manly citizens, worthy of the soil they inherit, of the privileges they are to
enjoy, defend, and transmit to unborn generations? What consummate folly
is it, then, to appropriate million upon million for the support of our ten
thousand schools-to set them in operation under teachers of doubtful qualifications and little experience-to leave them to go on as they best may, in
vain reliance on some supposed inherent self-regulating principle in the system, and yet expect to receive the full benefits which the expenditure of so
much money, the services of so many teachers, and the time of so many children ought to confer! The incalculable loss consequent on this vain dependence we leave to others to estimate; our arithmetic has no rules for calculating the worth of that virtue, intelligence, and happiness which the neglect
or perversion of the means of education has already lost to the State. * *
" Nor is it by the wasteful application of the public money alone that the
State suffers, even in an economical point of view; but infinitely more by
impairing the productive energies of the citizens, through a defective and
baneful education. Were it necessary, it might be shown, beyond the reach
of cavil, that if the sole object of the statesman were to increase the wealth of
the people, without having any reference to their intellectual and moral wellbeing, in no way could it be so rapidly and universally accomplished as by
increasing the power intelligently to use the means of prosperity. We have
before us the most remarkable statistics on this point, showing that even in
those employments which would seem  to require but the lowest degree of
mental culture, as that of tending the looms in our factories, the operative
who has enjoyed the benefits of an ordinary Common School education earns,
on an average, 29 per cent. more than his ignorant associates, while he who
has improved those advantages earns forty-four per cent. more than the same
unfortunate and neglected class. And these facts are not inferred from a
limited observation, but are the result of extensive investigations made by the
distinguished secretary of the board of education of Massachusetts. If, therefore, as we hold is indisputable, the new system of supervision must increase
the efficiency of our ten thousand schools, it is certain that instead of adding
in any manner to the " expenses " of the several counties, it will largely and




144                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
beneficently increase their wealth, while it also ensures the wise use and enjoyment of the rewards of intelligent industry. * * * * * * * *
" We should fail in duty to your honorable body, and in justice to these
officers, did we not express our sincere interest in the result of their important labors. We believe that the value of the office can hardly be overrated; and that if in any county it should fail of utility, it will be chargeable not on the law, but on an injudicious appointment under its provisions. In
such cases the remedy is in the hands of the boards of supervisors, and
should be firmly and prudently applied. But, judging from the communications of these officers already made to the department,.we are satisfied that
not only is the system working well, but daily gaining a firmly seated
popularity. The visitation of districts has been carried on in every county
of the State; good methods of teaching have been diffused and bad plans
corrected; the interest of parents has been awakened, the ardor of the
children excited, the zeal of the teacher aroused and directed; and this has
been going on, not in a few districts or a few towns, but in more than ten
thousand different districts, and among more than half a million of children.
Such an enterprise, so far-reaching and effective, cannot fail to produce a
rich harvest of blessings; and we confidently anticipate that it will fast
bring on the time when our Common Schools shall become the fit nurseries
of a free and virtuous people-when the children of all classes shall be proud
to meet on this common platform, there to learn the first great lesson of
their common brotherhood as men, and their common destiny as citizens."
On  the 4th  of May subsequent, a State  Convention
of County Superintendents, representing forty-two out of
the fifty-nine counties of the State, was held at Utica.
This convention remained in session three days, and its
deliberations were presided over by the Hon. JABEZ D.
HAMMOND, of Otsego, the author of the  "Political History of New York."  In addition to the regular members
of the  convention, there were present during its entire
session, and participating, to a greater or less extent, in
its  discussions, the State Superintendent, Col. YOUNG;
the Hon. HORACE MANN, the distinguished Secretary of
the  Massachusetts Board of Education, afterward  President of Antioch College, Ohio; GEORGE B. EMERSON, of
Boston; the Rev. Dr. WILLIAM  GALLAUDET, of Connecticut; FRANCIS DWIGHT, of Albany, editor of the  District School Journal; the Rev. Dr. ALONZO POTTER, then




THIRD PERIOD. SUPERVISION.           145
of Union College, Schenectady; the venerable SALEM
TOWN, of Cayuga; Rev. Dr. GRiscoM, of New Jersey;
Dr. HORACE WEBSTER, of Geneva College; and other
gentlemen of distinction from  different sections of the
State.  The subjects involved, and the marked ability
which characterized the discussions, must constitute our
apology, if any were necessary, for giving a sketch of
its principal features, from the full report of its proceedings in the District School Journal.
Judge HAMMOND, in his remarks on taking the chair,
paid a just compliment to the character and services of
the several State Superintendents who had, from  time
to time, presided over the interests of Common Schools,
concluding with a special reference to the present incumbent, whom he had known from his entrance into public
life, and who, in his judgment, possessed a fitness and
capacity for usefulness in the department which he so
ably filled unsurpassed by any other man in the State.
"If, therefore," he observed, "the system  had stood
still, or retrograded, the reason for it must be sought
not in any want of capacity or attention at the helm,
but rather to the fact that, under the former regulations,
it was next to impossible for the State Superintendent
to be informed specifically of the defects in its management, and where those defects existed. The object of
the  existing  system  of county supervision was that
every district in the State, however secluded or remote,
should be reached, and its minutest operations looked
into, to the end that defects might be ascertained and
reported, and the correction, if possible, applied. Another high advantage of the system was, that any improvement in the mode of teaching or government, in
any portion of the State, whether in a log school-house
in the county of Cattaraugus, or in the remote part of
10




146               COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
the wilds of Hamilton, should be communicated to the
State Superintendent, and by him  spread all over the
State, through its ten thousand neighborhoods."
Letters from  Ex-Superintendents Dix and SPENCER,
expressive of their continued interest in the welfare and
advancement of the Common School system, and regretting their inability to be present, were read; invitations
extended to Col. YOUNG and HORACE MANN to address
the  convention during its session, and, with the other
distinguished visitors present, to participate in its discussions; and committees appointed to prepare subjects
for its deliberation.
After listening to an able and eloquent address from
the State Superintendent, a series of resolutions were
presented  by Mr. MOULTON, of Oneida, declarative, in
general terms, of the duty of the county superintendents to rouse the public interest, by illustrating unceasingly in their lectures, addresses, and published communications, the relations between ignorance and poverty,
vice and wretchedness, knowledge and the physical and
moral well-being of man; and, in every practicable mode,
through their visitations, inspections, and influence, to
elevate the standard of education, and extend its blessings. The fifth resolution was as follows:
" Resolved, That the best police for our cities, the lowest insurance for
our houses, the firmest security for our banks, the most effective means of
preventing pauperism, vice, and crime, and the only sure defence of our
country, are our Common Schools; and woe to us if their means of education
be not commensurate with the wants and the powers of the people."
Upon this resolution an animated and interesting discussion  ensued  between  Dr. THEODORE  F. KING, of
Brooklyn; Mr. JACOB C. TOOKER, of Orange; the Rev.
Dr. POTTER; HORACE MANN; Mr. A. S. CLEMENT, of
Dutchess; and Mr. C. C. W. CLEAVELAND, of Greene. Dr.




THIRD PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.         147
KING remarked that the resolution struck upon the very
subject in reference to which the convention had assembled-the improvement of Common Schools. The object
was to make education common to all, that, like the
blessed sun, it might diffuse its radiance throughout the
land, lighting up not merely the palace of the wealthy,
but the lowly cottage of the poor. When our men of
wealth could be taught the important lesson that their
greatest interest lay, not in endowing banks and railroads, but in working those mines of inexhaustible
wealth which were to be found in every district, then,
and not till then, could the responsibilities assumed by
the members of the convention be said to be fully discharged.  In the county of Kings there were some
schools, he was proud to say, that were noble monuments of its enterprise and wealth. In the city of
Brooklyn, 3,000 children were in attendance upon the
Common Schools; and four of the school-houses had
cost $10,000 each. Yet the feeling that should be there
was wanting. They who were able to sustain these institutions regarded them with indifference, if not with
positive disgust. The reason was, that Common School
education had been too common in one sense, and not
common enough in another.  The standard must be
raised. He had succeeded, by unremitting effort, by addresses to neighborhoods, inspectors, trustees, and commissioners, and other means, in arousing a spirit which
would ere long manifest itself in good fruits.
Mr. TOOKER objected to the assumption in the resolution that our Common Schools were the best of Common Schools, and, therefore, the best security for safety
and order. Our Common Schools were very bad; and he
suggested the substitution of the words "well regulated
Common Schools."




148            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
The Rev. Dr. POTTER remarked that the resolution
embodied a great many incontestible truths —truths of
immense importance just at this time. The radical vice
of our Common School system, in his judgment, was not
the want of a proper interest in the subject on the part
of teachers. It was not the want of a general conviction of the importance of education, for no truth was
more firmly riveted in the public mind. The grand difficulty was the prevalent misapp'rehension as to what
education meant. The phrase "well regulated Common
Schools" was vastly important.  That was the great
truth they had to press home upon the minds of the
people. It was universally admitted that education was
indispensable to a free government-to human welfare;
but the truth must be as generally recognized, before
any radical reform could be effected, that we might have
poor schools.  The great mission to which they were
called was the regeneration of the Common Schoolsthe infusion into them of the elements of a newer and
higher life. That was a noble mission, and never were
men called to a higher work.
The Hon. HORACE MANN observed that no man could
deny that the resolution under discussion contained a
most important and indestructible truth.  What was
wanted was not the education of a few, but the education of all; for it was obvious, look into what department of life you would, that a few ignorant and vicious
men could baffle all the efforts, and jeopard all the interests, of the great majority of conscientious, able, active men contending against them.  One man could
destroy, one incendiary could burn, more than a thousand could build up. One bad man, acting antagonistically to the general interests of society, could defeat
the efforts of forty-nine out of every fifty in the whole




THIRD PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.           149
community. Hence the necessity of the universality of
education. Not education merely in populous cities and
towns-not in the centers of towns; but through the
remotest bounds of every community-on the borders
and confines of civilization-not less than at the metropolis. There were two attributes or qualities belonging to our Common Schools which it was important to
present to the consideration of intelligent minds. The
first was, the universality with which they might be
made to operate, covering the whole surface of society,
and reaching the very motives of human action. The
law took cognizance only of the outward actions of
men-not the spring, the motives, of those acts. Criminal jurisdiction was also local, reaching only a portion
of the criminal acts; it applied, probably, only to one in
several hundreds of our population. And yet, taking
into consideration the property the criminal destroys,
what he appropriates to his own use, what he utterly
consumes and sweeps out of existence by his incendiarism, the expenses of pursuit and arraignment, the time
and money spent in his prosecution and imprisonment,
he ventured to say that the sum total necessary, in any
community, to vindicate the law, in those few cases
where it can be vindicated at all, would exceed the sum
expended for the education of the entire community
concerned. The courts which administered the law laid
by until temptation was presented and yielded to, and
then, when the mischief was done and irreparable, they
set to work in their slow, harsh, and sometimes cruel,
way, to do something in the way of vengeance-redress
being utterly out of their power. But where did the
Common School begin?  Not with men who commit
crime, but with children before they can be supposed
capable of crime. Instead of turning out bad men, they




150            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
turned out valuable citizens, who add to the common
wealth and common happiness of society. One good
teacher could do more to relieve society of these misfortunes than all the judges of the land, because he
begins earlier, and his influence reaches deeper. That
great institution, the Church, reached scarcely one-half
the mass of community, and, addressing itself only, or
chiefly, to adults, even there, could not effectually reach
the evil in its germination. The schools had the advantage over every instrumentality yet devised by the ingenuity of mankind in eradicating those evils that now
diminished at least one-half the value of the life of
every human being.  He looked on those engaged in
this work as devoted to the most sacred of causes.
Mr. CLEMENT, of Dutchess, alluded to the conclusive evidence furnished in the last annual report of his
distinguished friend, who had just taken his seat, of
the fact that crime and ignorance go hand in hand.
This truth had been abundantly illustrated in portions
of his own county. Where Common Schools most prevailed crime was comparatively unknown, and the expenses of supporting paupers were greatly reduced.
Mr. KING, from the Committee on NORMAL SCHOOLS,
reported a resolution requesting the State Superintendent to consider the expediency of adopting measures to
enable New York, as well as Massachusetts, to test
the usefulness and enjoy the benefits of Normal Schools
for the preparation of Common School teachers.
The resolution having been read, Mr. GEORGE B.
EMERSON, of Massachusetts, on the invitation of Dr.
Potter, came forward and addressed the Convention.
He had paid a great deal of attention to the subject
of Normal Schools, and the conclusions to which he had
come were that they were institutions of such impor



THIRD PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.          151
tance in reference to Common Schools that no one
who should examine the subject fully could fail to see
that they were absolutely essential.  Referring  to the
feeling which he presumed not uncommon in this State,
as it had been in Massachusetts, that the office of
teacher of a Common School was not the most high
and respectable in which any man could engage, he
stated that wherever Normal Schools should have been
established long enough to produce their legitimate
effects, in the creation of a class of teachers such as
they should be, this feeling of depreciation would universally cease. It would be seen and realized that to
teach well a Common School was one of the highest
duties to which any man could be called. He knew of
no school-of no kind of school-which, if properly
taught, would not be enough to command all the energy and tax all the resources of any man, however
highly endowed.  It was hardly necessary to  say to
such a body of men as were here assembled that in
order to teach well, a man must be specifically qualified
for the task. This was in consonance with the observation and experience of mankind in every other calling.
In every thing else-in every one of the professionsto do well, an education was required, and often a long
course of instruction was necessary.  To say that a
teacher of a school can perform his duty without such
a specific education, was to say it was a lower calling
than that of the mere operator on the soil or in any
other occupation-that the calling which commands and
affords employment for the whole life was the only one
which requires no previous training.  Every one who
takes charge of a Common School should be so trained.
Neither the colleges nor academies could, in his judgment, be relied upon for the adequate performance of




152            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
this work. Most of the inmates and graduates of these
institutions, if they resorted to teaching at all, did so,
not as a profession or business, but as a temporary occupation  subservient to  other objects and pursuits.
Now the great duty of teaching could not be performed
in such a way. Perfect success could only be attained
by regarding it as the highest and noblest employment
in which a man could be engaged.  The only way,
therefore, in which teachers could be perfectly qualified
was in schools separately devoted to the work.  To
every properly organized Normal School, an experimental
department is indispensable, where every principle and
method  of instruction  and discipline taught in  the
former can be immediately reduced to practice. This
is quite impracticable in  institutions where various
branches of instruction not pertaining specially to teaching are pursued.
Dr. POTTER, in reply, expressed doubts of his perfect
orthodoxy according to the Boston standard, as set up
by his friends who might be called the fathers of these
schools.  On this subject of Normal Schools, he could
not go so far as Mr. Emerson, though he had faith in
them. He would not have them to the exclusion of the
existing  academical departments established  for the
purpose. The principle on which his friends' reasoning
rested was that teaching was a specific profession, and
that for that profession you must have specific training.
There were many examples that might be cited in opposition to this principle. There was no training for the
great business of legislation beyond what the legislator enjoyed in the discharge of that most responsible
trust.  There was no specific education for the discharge of some of the most important functions devolved on man in the relations of life.  That most




THIRD PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.          153
important of all offices, the discharge of the parental
responsibilities, was one for which no special training
was contemplated or provided in any system of education. What, then, was the true principle? It seemed
to him to be this: Educate a man; educate a woman;
give them  well-disciplined minds; and you have then
prepared  them  for educating themselves up to  the
standard and wants of any profession.  There were,
doubtless, exceptions-as in the case of the medical profession, and, perhaps, some others-but they were only
exceptions.  His friend would, perhaps, remind  him
that you could not train a man to make a shoe or a
hat without an apprenticeship. True; but the business
of making shoes and hats was the business of but a
small portion of the community. The great business of
moulding the youthful mind was a charge which God
had devolved on every human being; and, therefore,
education, if it was to be specific, should prepare a man
for the enlightened discharge of that important trust.
He trusted the time would come when, in all our higher
seminaries of learning, the science  of training  the
youthful mind would  be considered  as essential as
astronomy or natural philosophy-when it would be felt
that the one great duty of the educated mind was to
discharge the trust of teacher-and that it was one of
the highest obligations reposed in man, though not a
parent, to send forth again whatever light may have
visited his own mind to illumine the world. He must
remind the gentleman who referred him to the mechanical trades, that the business of educating a spirit-of
moulding the moral principles —was a different thing
from making a shoe or a table. The mechanic can lay
down precise rules for holding your tool and laying out
your materials, in order to bring out a material ma



154            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
chine, but there were no such precise rules for training up the immortal spirit. Rules, he admitted, there
were-rules not generally appreciated, not generally understood —and he admitted that Normal Schools for imparting a more general knowledge of these rules were
all-important, as a temporary measure, to train up, perhaps, one generation of teachers, and not as a permanent
system. To undertake, in this State, to pass all teachers
through the mill —to produce ten thousand teachersone for each school district-would require an immense
outlay of funds. The principle on which these schools
should be advocated should be to plant over this State
five hundred good teachers as central lights-radiant
points —to the end that they might spread all around
them the influence of their successful example until the
entire system shall be regenerated and revivified. The
best mode of training teachers was by example.  A
good teacher was, himself, in his course of procedure,
the very best means of teaching others.  He was in
favor of Normal Schools, in the proper place and time,
but not as indispensable for every teacher. He believed
the departments for training teachers in the academies
were doing good, and might do more good.  He believed that there were defects about them —defects that
could not be fully remedied under their present constitution. The great defect was, unquestionably, in regard
to training for the mechanical part of teaching.  He
had suggested that, if the science, or theory and practice of teaching were introduced into our seminaries,
every human being might be taught how to teach as
well as how to know: for the one was but the practical
application of the other. But, after all, it did require
a great deal of iteration and reiteration of mechanical
routine that could not be introduced into an ordinary




THIRD PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.           155
academy. It seemed to him as a necessary incident to
our present system, and with which, so far as its external constitution was concerned, that system  would
be almost without objection, that we should have, in
addition, just one thing: That was, a great training
school for teachers, at Albany, where some three hundred
might be assembled and taught in regard to the theory
of teaching, having been already taught the several branches
of Commnon  School instruction before they  came, and
then put into a model or experimental school, and set
to putting in practice what they may have learned,
under the eye of an able superintendent. He believed
this training should be superadded to previous study in an
academy. This would furnish all that would be required
to perfect our system.  But it was not necessary by
one fell swoop to destroy what we had.  The great
object should be to develop, improve, and perfect it.
Mr. M. H. FITTS, of Niagara, said he had been faithless in regard to Normal Schools, and confessed he was
not satisfied now.  He had taken pains to inquire into
this subject; and, if he understood it, these schools
differed in no respect as to book knowledge and the
development of the mental powers from other schools,
except in teaching how to teach.  Now, he took it for
granted that a man who could not learn the details of
school-room  management by experience is one who
could not be taught these details by precept. As soon
as the inhabitants of school districts were willing to pay
a proper compensation for the services of competent
and experienced teachers, they would find their way
among us without Normal Schools. He regarded teachers as a marketable commodity, the supply of which
would always keep pace with the demand.
Mr. MANN  again took the floor in behalf of the




156            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
system  of Normal School instruction, with which he
had made himself familiar in Massachusetts during the
past three years. It seemed to him  that no fact was
more plain and obvious than that it was one thing to
learn and another to teach.  The one was the ability of
acquiring, the other of imparting processes as different
as could be named.  For a learner, it was only necessary to study and understand his own mind-to find
out in what way he himself could most thoroughly
master a subject; but for a teacher, it was necessary
to know  in what way different minds, with different
natural tendencies, and different habits of thought,
could accomplish the same task. How much there was
in this distinction those could readily understand who
know that the teacher has all varieties and shades of
mind to deal with, while the mind of the learner is
but one.  Most readily did he admit that teaching was
unlike any mechanical pursuit-but it was unlike it in
being more difficult, more profound, more important —
and, therefore, should be unlike it in requiring not
only less, but more, preparation-vastly more —infinitely
more.
It had also been said that the Creator had made
every parent a teacher.  True; but did it follow that
because the Creator had established no institution for
teaching parents, therefore all the duties of the parental
relation would be well discharged without any, or would
not be better discharged with, such instruction?  Let
the deplorable condition of thousands and millions of
children, not only in our own, but in all preceding
times, answer the question.  If such were the legitimate inference from  the fact that the Creator had
established this relation without providing any mode
of teaching  parents, then we  must discard all our




THIRD  PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.                157
schools, academies, and seminaries of learning; for in
the  same sense in which God has made no provision
for educating  parents, he has built no  school-house,
academy, or college. Mr. MANN then proceeded to give
a  full and  detailed  description  of  the  methods  of
instruction  in  the  Normal Schools  of Massachusetts,
the requisites for admission, and the practical application   of  the  precepts  given  in  the  experimental
schools.   By these  means the  standard of education
had been advanced very materially.  He concluded by
saying he could wish no better fortune to New York
than that she should crown all her noble efforts in the
cause of education by the establishment of one or more
Normal Schools.
The  Convention  then  adjourned for the hearing of
Mr. MANN'S public address at the  church; and, after
its conclusion, re-assembled at 9 o'clock in the eveningand proceeded to discuss the following resolution, reported by Mr. HENRY, of Herkimer:
" Resolved, That in general our school-houses are ill contrived, badly built,
and shamefully neglected; defective, in most instances, in being too small,
and with desks and seats utterly unsuited to the wants of children, in the
general want of wood-sheds, out-buildings, and play-grounds, and in location and architectural beauty; and that every effort should be made for the
supply of these requisites for the comfort, improvement, health, and decency
of the children."
The  resolution  was discussed  by Mr. HENRY, Mr.
WING, of Warren; Mr. SHUMWAY, of Essex; Mr. WILLIAM WRIGHT, of Washington; Mr. PATCHIN, of Livingston; Mr. MoxoN, of Allegany; and Mr. ROCHESTER,
of Monroe.  The latter gentleman, after conceding that
the condition of school-houses, as described in the resolution, was pretty generally the same throughout the
State, said he had found, wherever he had an  opportunity to test the experiment in his district, that these




158            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
deplorable deficiencies were not so much the result of
a want of liberality on the part of the people, as of
ignorance of what was necessary, and absence of effort
in calling attention to the subject. Wherever this was
done, repairs were promptly made, or new school-houses
built, without opposition or remonstrance.  The subject had, in his judgment, only to be brought home to
the knowledge of the people in the different localities,
to lead, sooner or later, to improvement. The resolution was adopted.
The subject of school discipline, involving the question of corporal punishment, was then taken up and discussed on a resolution submitted by Mr. DOUGLAS, of
Clinton,  "that a  teacher who can  govern himself
may discipline a school without resorting to corporal
punishment; and that an individual who cannot govern
himself is unqualified for the sacred office of a teacher
of youth."
Mr. DOUGLAS took strong ground in favor of this
resolution; while Messrs. HENRY, of Herkimer; FINCH,
of Steuben; EMERSON, of Massachusetts; SHUMIWAY, of
Essex; and Dr. GRIscoM, of New Jersey, although adverse to the use of the rod, except in extreme cases,
and when no other method of discipline was, after due
effort, found to be available, were yet of opinion, that
the power to inflict corporal punishment should remain
in the teacher, as a last resort; and the resolution,
after being amended accordingly, was laid over for consideration on the following day, when, upon a renewed
discussion, in  which  Messrs. DOUGLAS, ROCHESTER,
WING, SHAw, of Albany; BARLOW, of Madison; EMERSON, MANN, SPRAGUE, of Fulton; SALEM  TOWN, of
Cayuga; GALLAUDET, of Connecticut; and GRIScOM,
participated, it was modified as follows:




THIRD  PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.              159
"Resolved, That while we recognize in the teacher the same authority
to correct his pupils as the parent has to correct his wayward child, we,
nevertheless, believe that a teacher who can govern himself may discipline
a school without resort to corporal punishment; and that an individual
who cannot govern himself is unqualified for the sacred office of a teacher
of youth."
The discussion of the subject of normal schools was
then renewed between Dr. POTTER, Mr. MANN, Mr. GALLAUDET, and Prof. WEBSTER, of Geneva; and the resolution, as originally reported, adopted with a slight modification, on motion of Mr. DWIGHT, of Albany. Resolutions
were adopted, on Mr. ROCHESTER'S motion, earnestly inviting the active co-operation of the clergy, and members
of the legal and medical profession, throughout the State,
in the efforts now in progress for the improvement and
advancement of the Common Schools.  The subject of
text-books was also  discussed  at considerable  length,
and resolutions finally adopted recommending uniformity
to the greatest practicable extent consistent with the
comparative merit of the different books in use.  The
establishment of Union Schools in large towns and villages was recommended, on the motion of Mr. BURDICK,
of Rensselaer.  On motion of Mr. SPRAGUE, of Fulton,
a resolution was adopted strongly discountenancing the
purchase and introduction into the district libraries of
books of an immoral or frivolous tendency. Mr. WING,
of Warren, submitted a series of practical resolutions
on  Methods of  Teaching, which  were  adopted.  Mr.
PATCHIN, of Livingston, offered a resolution, which was
also unanimously adopted, expressing great confidence
in the ability and efficiency of the several teachers'
departments in  the  academies of the  State  for  the
supply of a competent body of well-instructed teachers
in the Common Schools.  The co-operation of parents
in securing the punctuality and regularity of attend



160            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
ance of their children, and the more general employment of female teachers in the several schools, was also
requested.
At the conclusion of the proceedings, Mr. MANN rose
to say that he looked upon this convention as one of
the most important ever held in this country. He regarded it not merely as an assemblage of some fifty or
sixty individuals for the promotion of temporary public
purposes, or political views; but, looking to the future,
he saw that these individuals were to go back into the
respective districts of this vast State, and were there to
operate on the fortunes not only of contemporaries, but
of posterity-that they were even more than emissaries
and apostles of truth-that they would create a perception of truth; for it was immaterial how much of the
divine authority of truth we might receive, if we failed
to create a class of minds throughout the community able
to adopt and to defend the truth.  There was truth
enough; but the difficulty was, there was not the mind
to comprehend it, the intelligence to perceive, and the
will to obey it. There was the great defect of humanity.
He looked upon those assembled there as missionaries
to raise up this general mind; to enable all to understand those truths by which all were surrounded. Hence
it was to him a matter of great interest and pleasure to
meet his friends on this occasion. The members of this
convention had exhibited an amount of information, a
desire for investigation, and a spirit of conciliation and
harmony, which he did not expect to find among so many
persons brought together, for the first time, for the consideration and discussion of a subject in regard to which
there was apt to be great differences of opinion. He
could only wish them  Godspeed. They would be compelled to contend with some dark and stormy times be



THIRD PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.           161
fore they saw the, result of their labors.  Such labors
did not come to maturity in a single season.  Like the
oak, they required both the sun and the storm; but,
when matured, they survived through ages of change.
"Go on, then, though you should meet with obstructions,
with contumely-the hour of triumph will eventually
come. Though it may be your destiny long to labor
without witnessing the product of your toil, yet that
labor-like that of the tiny insect that builds at the bottom of the sea, going on, age after age, steadily with its
work, until, by and by, it brings up the rock-built continent to the surface-will, at no very distant period,
bring about as great and permanent results. In parting
from you, let me say that if Napoleon, when he led
down his army from  the Alps into Italy, was able to
excite his soldiers to frantic courage, by depicting to
them the honors which awaited them  from  their victories and triumphs-if all this could be done by presenting to them the idea of returning home in old age, gathering their grandchildren about the fireside, and being
able to say: "I, too, was of the Army of Italy "-with
what strong and enduring emotions ought not these
deputies to be inspired, that it may be in their power
to say, as this work goes progressively on, looking upon
the improved condition of this great State, its internal
resources developed, its intellect resplendently diffused
over the country: "I, TOO, WAS A CO-WORKER WITH GOD
IN THIS GREAT LABOR! "
The eloquent tones of that immortal voice are now
hushed in death; and the deep silence of the grave has
long rested upon the labors of POTTER, YOUNG, DWIGHT,
HAMMONID  GRISCOM, GALLAUDET, KING, TOWN, and
many others of their noble associates on that day; but
the work of their hands, and the labor of their lives, re11




162            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
main an imperishable record upon our institutions of
their high ambition, comprehensive intellect, and unintermitted devotion to the great and enduring interests of universal education, knowledge, religion, and
virtue!
The State Convention of County Superintendents reassembled, at Rochester, in the summer of the ensuing
year; at Albany, in 1844 and 1846; and at Syracuse,
in 1845; and by their consultation with each other, and
with the head of the department, were enabled to accomplish a vast amount of invaluable benefit to the advancement and prosperity of the Common Schools, the
results of which will more fully appear in the annual
reports of the superintendents, from  time to time, during their continuance in office, as well as in the concurrent testimony of the executive department.
From  the first annual report of  Superintendent
YOUNG, in January, 1843, it appears that the whole
number of districts in the State was 10,893, in which
over six hundred thousand children had been taught
during the year reported. The total amount of public
money  expended  in  the  payment of teachers was
$588,506.32; and the amount contributed by parents on
rate-bills was $468,688.22-making the whole sum  paid
for teachers' wages upward of $1,000,000. The expenditure for district libraries was $98,290.47, with which
about 200,000 volumes were added to the libraries, increasing the whole number of volumes  distributed
throughout the several districts of the State to over one
million. "The diffusion of a million of useful books,'
he observes, "through all the various portions of this
great community, although many of them, at present,
may fall in sterile places, cannot ultimately fail to produce a richly compensating reward.  Time will soon




THIRD PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.           163
remove the obstruction of servile indifference; and the
imaginative ardor of youth will find and unlock these
storehouses of knowledge. And it requires no effort of
fancy-it simply needs a knowledge of cause and effect
-to know with moral certainty that many future great
and good men, who will be the benefactors and blessings of the human race, will be able to trace to the
influences of these volumes the primeval dawnings of
their embryo genius-the first impulse to their glorious
career.
"In the quietude of private life, the gratification of
a taste for reading instructive books affords a perennial
source of undying enjoyment.  No means so effectual
have ever been devised to promote virtue, repress vice,
purify and exalt the affections, expand and strengthen
the mind, and raise man above the groveling propensities of his animal nature.  Can a liar, a cheat, a debauchee, or a murderer, be found among those who are
devoted to self improvement, and who are fond of acquiring moral and intellectual knowledge by the study
of useful books? No such instance has ever existed or
ever will.  Nor is there so powerful an agent of preventive police, to suppress crime and diminish expenditures in the administration of criminal justice, as the
diffusion of knowledge and the consequent promotion
of virtue."
In reference to the several departments for the education of teachers connected with the academies of
the  State, the  Superintendent, after conceding that
those institutions had, to a considerable extent, exercised a beneficial influence on the Common Schools, by
advancing the standard of qualification of teachers, and
giving increased character and efficiency to the business
of instruction, says: "But it must be admitted that




164               COIMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM,
most of these departments have practically failed in the
accomplishment of the great object for which they were
instituted-the special qualification of teachers for the Common  Schools.  Little  has  been  done which would  not
have been substantially effected by the ordinary exercises of the academies in which  the departments have
been  organized; and many of the  academies, not participating at all in the fund set apart for this purpose,
are, in reality, at present accomplishing  as  much  for
the benefit of the  Common  Schools as those specially
designated  for this  object."   He recommends, accordingly, the concentration of the fund upon four of the
most efficient academies of the State-the diffusion of
the bounty of the State over too great a surface being,
in his judgment, the cause of the failure of these departments.  By  such concentration, the  encouragement
would be sufficiently liberal to induce these institutions
to direct their principal efforts to the qualification of
teachers; and, under proper regulations, without any
violent change, the classical branches might gradually
be merged into the teachers' departments, and each be
thus converted, without expense for buildings or apparatus, into an efficient Normal School.
" In addition to this endowment, a sufficient annual sum might advantageously be appropriated from the literary fund, to establish and maintain
a similar school in the city of Albany, at the seat of government, where it
might annually be examined by the representatives of the people during the
session of the Legislature.
" Such a system, it is believed, could not fail to produce the most beneficial consequences. Whatever prejudices might, at first, be entertained
against schools of this description, as innovations upon our established
institutions for public instruction, there cannot be a doubt that they will
here, as they have already done in Massachusetts, speedily entrench them
selves in the favor and affection of the people. Their whole object and
design is to benefit the great mass of mankind by preparing teachers of
youth, both practically and theoretically, to communicate to children a
vastly greater amount of useful elementary knowledge than can possibly be




THIRD  PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.                        165
effected by the antiquated modes of instruction ordinarily in use. These
institutions originated in E.urope; they have multiplied and constantly
increased in usefulness in various kingdoms; and have produced and are
producing a wonderful revolution and improvement in the combined art
and science of communicating primary instruction.
"That educational science is far behind all others is a fact recognized
and conceded by all who are competent to judge. On every other science,
a vast amount of skill, ingenuity, and perseverance has been expended to
bring them to their present degree of perfection; whilst this, the most important of all, has been confined for centuries to a dull routine, or left to the
caprice of accident. The habits and instincts of wild animals have been
carefully investigated in order that they might be moulded to domestication
and trained to utility. But the different propensities of children, according
to the old system of training, are not to be studied or regarded. All varieties are to be treated in the same manner and whipped into uniformity.
" There is no function of government nor field of human exertion which
involves such momentous consequences as that which pertains to the education of youth. The whole juvenile population of the State, in the plastic
period of childhood, is subjected to its benign or adverse influence, and may
be moulded to good or to evil, to virtue or vice. Early impressions are the
most indelible; and the impulse given in the school often communicates a
bright or somber coloring to the longest life. In exact proportion to the acquisition of useful knowledge, man rises in the scale of being above the
savage and the brute; and the only means afforded to nine-tenths of our
whole population of acquiring the rudiments of this knowledge is furnished
by Common Schools. These are the nurseries in which germinate the durable
elements of individual happiness or degradation, and of national glory or
shame.  The Common School is the great fulcrum upon which the moral
and intellectual attainments of a whole people may be indefinitely raised.
" But this consummation can never be attained either by a cold and inhospitable neglect, or by a " zeal not according to knowledge."  An active,
intelligent, and efficient supervision affords, in the opinion of the Superintendent, the best, and, indeed, the only sure means of renovation. The want
of such a supervision has heretofore, for many years, been severely felt. Its
consequences to our Common Schools have been a lingering and almost hopeless state of degradation.  Parents have neglected to provide suitable
buildings, conveniences, apparatus, and books, and have thoughtlessly abandoned the education of their children to the cheapest teacher.  Officers of
towns and districts have either been incompetent or disinclined to perform
with efficiency their legal functions.  Each of the eleven thousand school
districts of the State seems to have constituted a separate principality, isolated from all the rest, groping onward alone, ignorant of its own deficiencies, unenlightened by the advancing knowledge of the age, and wholly destitute of both the power and the will to avail itself of the improved systems
of instruction which are yearly developed, both in this country and in other
parts of the world.




166                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.'"What will the future historian who lives in more propitious and enlightened times, in a period when the culture of the human mind is justly
appreciated-when government shall be brought back  from  its erratic
course to its legitimate functions-when its efforts shall be directed to control the mental, instead of the physical, elements-when its energies shall be
applied to the accumulation of moral and intellectual riches, instead of
being wasted in a blind and abortive struggle to acquire material wealthwhat will the historian of these times say of the present and the past?
" For a long period of years, the people of this and many other States
have permitted their rulers to plunge deeply into works of labor involving
pecuniary consequences to a vast amount, under the delusive expectation
that such works can be conducted beneficially to the community by the mercenary machinery of government.  Under this stupid delusion, created and
sustained by reckless demagogues, and fostered by sectional cupidity, more
than two hundred millions of dollars have been utterly sacrificed, of which
enormous sum  more than one-tenth has been hopelessly dissipated by the
government of this State. Such a sweeping waste of the avails of human
toil, together with its consequences, ponderous debt and depopulating taxation, will, in a corresponding degree, retard the onward progress of physical
advancement for many years. Nor will the moral atmosphere soon be purified from the polluted influences which have been infused into it by such
vast government dealings in'the root of all evil.'
" The career of ignorance has ever been characterized by a continuous
and imbecile warfare against the enactments of the Almighty. A destitution of correct principles, and a lack of true knowledge, have always been
the generating cause of the great mass of moral and physical evil which has
scourged mankind.
"Every age has furnished its sad memorials of ignorance and folly. Our
catalogue will eclipse, in number, magnitude and durability, the aggregated
amount of the last five hundred years. The crumbling ruins of unseemly
excavations. and dilapidated and abandoned works, deforming the face of
the earth, will characterize the present period, for centuries to come. These
forlorn and repulsive mementoes will be the hateful chroniclers of their own
disgraceful history, and of the dominant spirit of this age.' He that runs
may read-and he that reads will run!'
"Had we, in early life, been but slightly instructed in a knowledge of
the laws which God has impressed on the human mind-had we been enabled to anticipate the sure operation of cause and effect, it would have
been morally impossible for the devastating and demoralizing, curse of a
miscalled'internal improvement,' by which millions of human beings are
crushed and thousands corrupted, to have fallen upon us.  And if we are
anxious to protect those who will soon occupy our places in the active
theater of life from similar infatuations; if we are desirous that their welfare shall be exempted from the deleterious influence of State quacks; and
that they shall not become, as we have, the passive dupes of the interested,
and the unresisting victims of demagogues, we must, as the only means of




.THIRD  PERIOD.- SUPERVISION.                      167
safety, bestow upon their minds, through the instrumentality of well regulated schools, the panoply of knowledge.  What inheritance comparable
with this can the parent provide for his children?  Through all the vicissitudes of life, what other safe guides can be found than virtue and knowledge? These are the only pillars of cloud and of fire which afford protection to man in his earthly pilgrimage.
" The torpid and degraded state of our Common Schools has been the
theme of frequent official communication, and my able predecessors in this
department have made repeated efforts to move the lethean waters. If the
cold and apathetic indifference, the stagnant tranquillity of the community,
could be awakened and aroused on this subject, the whole evil would
shortly vanish. There is no object within the ample range of human attainment which is not readily accomplished by the united exertions of a whole
people.
" Under a law passed in 1839, special visitors of the Common Schools
were appointed, who gratuitously examined and reported their condition to
the Legislature.  Although these visitors did not concur in regard to the
proper measures for reforming existing evils and abuses, yet they were unanimous in the opinion' that the schools did not afford the kind or degree of
education essential either to the perpetuity or safety of the State.'  They
showed that a'large amount cf the public money was utterly wasted;'
that'from one-third to one-half of the pupils were daily absent;' that' a large proportion of the school-houses were in a deplorable condition, and
wholly unfit for places of education;' and that'a wide-spread and fatal
apathy chilled the hopes of reform, and clogged all efforts for improvement.'
They, therefore,'earnestly prayed that the law should be so amended as to
secure that constant and faithful supervision which should rouse parents,
teacher, and child, to a sense of their deep and urgent responsibilities.' In
consequence of these disclosures, and in accordance with numerous petitions
from every part of the State, the law creating the office of deputy superintendent was passed by a nearly unanimous vote in both branches of the
Legislature. The prominent defects which it was the object of this law to
remedy consisted in the meager, incorrect, and unsatisfactory information in
regard to the condition of the Common Schools, which was furnished under
the requisitions of the statutes then in force; the defective supervision of
the schools by the officers specifically charged with this duty; the low
standard of qualifications on the part of teachers, permitted and sanctioned by inspectors; the consequent rapid increase of cheap, unqualified,
and inefficient teachers; the prevailing neglect on the part of the inhabitants
of school districts to provide suitable accommodations for the education of
their children, or to visit and manifest an interest in the affairs of the school;
the prevalence, in many districts, of private and select schools of various
grades of excellence, rendered necessary by the degradation and neglect of
the district school; and a pervading stagnation of public sentiment in reference to the advancement and improvement of these elementary institutions of public instruction.




16'8                 COMMON  SCHOOL  SYSTEM.
" When the law creating the office of County superintendent of Common
Schools was first promulgated, having been passed in a period of the most
profligate and reckless legislative expenditure, it was, in the minds of many,
associated with the broad and impudent system of felonious enactment, " eating out the substance of the people," and stealing the bread, and plundering
the means of education from myriads of unborn children, which has brought
upon the State the terrific desolation of a debt of twenty-seven millions of dollars. He who now occupies the station of State Superintendent derived his
first impressions of this law from such an association of ideas; and, on entering upon the duties of the office, felt a decided predisposition to exercise whatever
influence he might possess to save the expense by an abolition of the system. But
to have passed an irrevocable sentence of condemnation upon it, without first
subjecting it to the test of a rigid scrutiny, would have been manifestly unjust. A meeting of the County superintendents of the several counties was
advertised to be held in the city of Utica, in May last; and one of the prominent objects of the Superintendent in being present at that convention was to
obtain, if possible, an accurate knowledge, and to form a satisfactory opinion
of the intelligence, zeal, and capacity for usefulness of its members. The.proceedings of that convention have been widely circulated and extensively
read; and it is no unmeaning compliment to allege, that for the purpose of
illustrating and improving the important principles of elementary instruction,
no body of men of equal information and devotedness has ever before assembled in this State. But the practical utility of the system, its adaptation to
supply the deficiencies of supervision, to point out the extent of existing
evils, and to suggest the most feasible remedies, to allay the bitter feuds and
animosities which often mar the peace and retard the prosperity of school
districts, and to rouse and inspire parental indifference with a love for the
advancement and happiness of children, by the acquisition of useful knowledge in well-regulated schools, were yet to be tested.  How far these important objects have been effected will, to a considerable extent, be seen and
appreciated by the Legislature, on reading the able reports of the deputy
superintendents herewith transmitted.
"The nakedness and deformity of the great majority of the schools in this
State; the comfortless and dilapidated buildings, destitute, in many instances,
of the ordinary conveniences and decencies of life; the unhung doors, broken
sashes, absent panes, stilted benches, gaping walls, yawning roofs, and muddy
and moldering floors-are faithfully and fully portrayed; and many of the
self-styled teachers, who lash and dogmatize in these miserable tenements of
suffering humanity, are shown to  be low, vulgar, obscene, intemperate,
ignorant, and profane, utterly incompetent to teach any thing that is good.
Such are the temples of science, and such the ministers whose'moral character, learning, and ability to teach  are officially certified by inspectors from
year to year, and under whose guidance and care susceptible childhood is to
receive its earliest impressions, and its first knowledge of human society!
Great God! shall man dare to charge to thy dispensations the vices and the
crimes, the sickness, the sorrows, the miseries, and the brevity of human life.




THIRD  PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.                        169
who sends his little children to a pest house, amply fraught with the deadly
malaria of both moral and physical disease? Instead of impious murmurs
let him lay his hand on his mouth, and his mouth in the dust, and cry'unclean!' To cure, if possible, the callousness which is manifested in many
districts on the subject of school-houses, a law should be passed authorizing
the Superintendent, after proper notice, to withhold all public moneys from
any defaulting school district, until reasonable accommodations for the comfort of the pupils shall be provided.  Love of money must be substituted for
a lack of parental affection.
" In every county in the State where the deputy superintendent has assiduously fulfilled his mission an improvement in the condition of the schools
is manifest.  The frequent lectures and expostulations of these officers, at
meetings of the inhabitants of districts convened by them, have done much
good, by arousing the thoughtless, confirming the wavering, and exciting to
more vigorous exertions all the friends of education. Many compromises of
obstinate district quarrels have been effected by the friendly interference and
pacific counsels of these officers.  In several of those frequent contests
brought up by appeal, respecting sites of school-houses and divisions and
lines of districts, involving questions respecting distances and convenience of
travel, the statements of which, by the conflicting parties, are often utterly
irreconcilable, the County superintendent, on a requisition from this department, has repaired to the spot, and carefully collected and transmitted
the naked facts, upon which a satisfactory decision might be based. The
number of appeals is increasing with the multiplication of districts, and now
averages nearly one for every two days in the year, requiring the examination of exceedingly voluminous, complicated, and often contradictory documents, and the adjustment of a great variety of legal principles and individual interests. The amount annually paid from the State treasury for
postage on these documents constitutes a serious item  in the aggregate
expense of the department. In addition to these appeals, the daily correspondence of the department with the inhabitants and officers of districts requiring information and advice for their guidance occupies a very large proportion of its time, and is constantly increasing. It has occurred to the
Superintendent that a great saving might be effected in time and money, as
well as a greater degree of practical efficiency given to the system, by the reference of all appeals to the deputy superintendent, in the first instance, for
his decision, with the right to any party aggrieved thereby to bring such decision up for review by this department. A large proportion, also, of the
ordinary correspondence of the department might advantageously take this
direction, suitable provisions being made to defray the charge of necessary
postage. The blundering, inartificial, and contradictory statements of litigants might then be elucidated and rectified by an officer, who, if necessary, could go to the district and ascertain the real merits of each case; and
the painful necessity often cast upon this department, of deciding doubtful
questions on crude and conflicting testimony, would be obviated, while, at
the same time, a great economy of expense would be secured.




170                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.' County superintendents properly qualified for the discharge of their
functions, possessing a competent knowledge of the moral, intellectual, and
physical sciences, familiar with all the modern improvements in elementary
instruction, and earnestly intent on elevating the condition of our Common
Schools, can do much more to accomplish this desirable result than all the
other officers connected with the system. Acting on a broader theater, they
can perform more efficiently all that supervision which has heretofore been so
deplorably neglected, or badly executed. The system of County superintendents is capable of securing, and can be made to secure, the following objects:
" It can produce a complete and efficient supervision of all the schools of
the State, in reference as well to their internal management as to their external details:
" It can be made to unite all the schools of the State into one great system; making the advancement of each the ambition of all; furnishing each
with the means of attaining the highest standard of practical excellence, by
communicating to it every improvement discovered or suggested in every or
any of the others:
" It can do much toward dissipating the stolid indifference which paralyzes many portions of the community, and toward arousing, enlightening,
and enlisting public sentiment in the great work of elementary instruction,
by systematic and periodical appeals to the inhabitants of each school district, in the form of lectures, addresses, &c.:
"It can be made to dismiss from our schools all immoral and incompetent teachers, and to secure the services of such only as are qualified and
efficient, thereby elevating the grade of the school-master, and infusing new
vitality into the school.
"' An attentive examination of the interesting reports of the deputy superintendents will clearly show that the accomplishment of several of the most
important of these objects is already in a state of encouraging progression.
" In these times of commercial paralysis, monetary pressure, and impending taxation, superinduced by causes which were clearly foreseen, and might
easily have been obviated, it is very far from the intention of the Superintendent to advocate any system which shall add weight to the existing burdens of the community.  Instead of this, it will be manifest that the system
of deputy superintendents can be made to supersede official duty heretofore
badly performed, and taxation heretofore imposed, with little resulting
utility, to an amount greatly exceeding the expenses of this system.
"The Legislature and the people of the State rightfully hold this department responsible, in the last resort, for the faithful application of the public
moneys, and the correct movement of all the pulleys and springs and wheels
in the vast and complicated, machinery of our system of public instruction.
And it is under the weight of this responsibility that the invocation is
earnestly made for such legislative action as shall cause an efficient movement among these' dry bones,' by infusing into their stagnant and multifarious organization much more of simplicity, economy, and energy of action.




THIRD  PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.                     11
" Heretofore the halls of legislation have resounded with the clamorous
appeals of mercenary demagogues, beleaguering the law-makers for splendid
appropriations to erect splendid structures, and to construct splendid works,
which would necessarily result, and have already resulted, in splendid debt
and splendid taxation. And these meretricious appeals have found a yielding
response in the easy virtue of past legislation. But as the cup of calamity is
now full to overflowing, it is devoutly to be hoped that the time has come
when the desolating war against the common welfare will cease, the temple
of Janus be permanently shut, and the floodgates of corruption closed forever; and that the ear of the legislator will be no longer stunned by the
hoarse din of the ravening brotherhood of'internal improvement,' but that
he will find both time and inclination to attend to the mute and unobtrusive wants of the rising generation.
"If fancy could congregate around the heretofore polluted temple of
legislation the six hundred thousand children of this State, with their innocent smiles, beaming with ardent hopes and high aspirations,'hungering
and thirsting' after knowledge, and'submissively lifting up their little
hands in silent supplication' for kind and competent instructors, for comfortable apartments, and for all the appliances which would enable them to
discover and obey the laws of the Creator, such an array would carry a
resistless appeal to all the generous sympathies of the human heart. The retiring diffidence and confiding imbecility of childhood prevent all petition,
and preclude all approach to the law-giver; and it is only by an effort of the
imagination that the throbbings of the youthful bosom, and the desires and.
wants of the opening mind, can be conceived. And now, when the delusive
visions of the past are superseded by sad and sober reality-when reason,
long inebriated and nodding in her seat, has begun to resume her swaywhen the Legislature can truly say to State mendicants, in the language of
an ancient Apostle,' Silver and gold have I none!'-shall not that conception
be entertained?
" A legislative atonement for the gross errors of the past is due both to
God and to man; nor can this atonement be more effectually made than by
adopting the means best calculated to imbue the minds of the rising generation with much more of knowledge, of wisdom, and of virtue, than have been
manifested by their predecessors."
In conclusion, he recommends the reduction of the
academical departments for  the  education  of teachers
to  four, and  the appropriation  of a  sufficient sum  to
establish  and  maintain  a NORMAL  SCHOOL  at the  seat
of government, where it might be subjected  to the immediate supervision  as well of the  department  as  of
the representatives of the people during  the sessions of
the Legislature; the abolition of the offices of Commis



172             COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
sioner and Inspector of Common Schools, and the substitution of that of TowN SUPERINTENDENT; the extension of the official term of trustees of school districts
to three years, one of their number to be annually
elected;  the  vesting  of  appellate  jurisdiction  and
powers, in the first instance, in the County superintendents, reserving the. right of final adjudication, on appeal
from  their decisions, to the State Superintendent; the
extension and perpetuation of the DISTRICT LIBRARIES,
and various other incidental and minor modifications of
the system; most of which recommendations and suggestions, with the exception of those relating to the
establishment of a Normal School and the reduction of
the  academical departments  for the  preparation  of
teachers, met with the full concurrence of the Legisla
ture; and after an able and argumentative report from
the Honorable CALVIN T. HULBURD, of St. Lawrence,
Chairman of the Assembly  Committee  on  Colleges,
Academies, and Common Schools, were incorporated in
an act which passed both branches, and became a law
on the 16th of April.
During the Summer of this year, the Superintendent
devolved upon HENRY  S. RANDALL, Esq., the efficient
County Superintendent of Cortland, the duty of preparing a special report in reference to  the suitable
selection of books for the several DISTRICT LIBRARIES.
The report was forwarded to the department on the 1st
of November, and its conclusions and principles officially adopted as the standard in the exercise of the
discretion vested in the trustees of districts in the purchase of these libraries.
The first cardinal rule laid down in the report, in
the character of all books to be admitted, was that
they should be works "of sound and useful instruc



THIRD  PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.                      173
tion," as contradistinguished from  works of mere amusement and  frivolity.   Juvenile  books, however, for  the
instruction  and  amusement of children, such  as  "Parley's Magazine,"  or the  "Rollo  Series"  by  Jacob  Abbott, were  not  to  be  regarded  as coming  within  the
excluded class, and were highly recommended.
Books of an immoral character or tendency  were  to
be rigidly  excluded, whether  in  the  shape  of  classics
ancient or modern, poetry, fiction, or the drama.
In reference to sectarian works, the following general
rules and principles were laid down:
"No works written professedly to utphold or attack any sect or creed in our
country, claiming to be a religious one, shall be tolerated in the school libraries.
" The question now arises, how far this rule of exclusion shall apply to an
extensive class of literary works, evidently not written with a sectarian
object, but which, incidentally, manifest the religious preferences or antipathies of their writers. This class embraces many of the standard productions
of our language. There is, probably, not a historian of England who does not
betray an evident leaning against the Protestants or Catholics. Clarendon
and Hume are not exceptions to this remark. In biography, these predilections are displayed almost as a matter of course, in alluding to the religious
tenets of their subjects.  In Pope's Essay on Man, notwithstanding the
volume once written to disprove it, we feel assured that the author leans
toward the skepticism of Bolingbroke. Other productions as clearly evince
the sway subsequently acquired over his religious views by that giant defender of Christianity, Bishop Warburton. Gibbon, throughout his magnificent History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, clearly
exhibits the earlier and worse bias which has been alluded to in Pope. The
whole tenor of Milton's Paradise Lost militates against the doctrine of Universalism. These instances might be indefinitely multiplied from among the
choicest productions of our language. To exclude them from the school
libraries would be to perpetuate a great evil to escape a smaller one.
" It may be said that in one, at least, of the instances cited, the works are
not merely " sectarian," but actually of " hostility to the Christian religion "a class already directly prohibited by the Superintendent. But if the positions heretofore assumed are correct, works attacking other religions than
the Christian-for example, those of the Jew, and that class of Unitarians
who utterly deny the divine character of Christ-are equally excluded.
Although it behooves us to be exceedingly cautious in tolerating any work
even indirectly impugning the theory of our holy religion, and although
some more strictness in enforcing the rule of exclusion in relation to such




174                   COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
may be proper, it is in vain to say that it shall be made imperative in every
possible instance coming within its letter. While we would unhesitatingly
condemn and reject portions of the writings of the Shaftesburys, of Bolingbroke, of Godwin, Shelley, Wolstonecraft Paine, Lessing, Voltaire, and
others of the same class, there are those which  though- they incidentally
betray doctrines somewhat at variance with the theory of Christianity, it is
evidently expedient to tolerate. The second general rule then is:
" 2. Standard wor~ks on other topics shall not be excluded because they incidentally and indirectly betray the religious opinions of their authors.
" There is a third class of literary productions which, though ostensibly
written on literary topics, not only incidentally betray religious biases, but
so far digress from the subject which they purport to treat as to abound in
direct defenses of the religious views of their authors, and attacks on those
of other persons; and those, whatever their theme-however dispassionately
they lay seem  to be written-however free they may in from  direct and
open forms of crimination-which, nevertheless, hold up any religious body
to contempt or execration, by singling out and bringing together only the
darker parts of their history and character.  Every English historian must
speak of the martyrs who suffered during the reign of Mary; he has a perfect
right to express sympathy for the sufferers, indignation against the tyrannical
monarch; the intelligent Roman Catholic now, as then-in the case of the
Pope's legate-will do no less. But Fox's Book of Martyrs, constantly pointing to, and commenting on, the enormities of one religious body, with its
pictorial embellishments of Protestants suffering the most horrible species of
torture and martyrdom, would clearly, whether the narrations contained in
it are, in point of fact, true or false, come under the exclusory rule. No
Protestant, assuredly, would claim that a parallel work giving, a history of
the Catholic, and even opposite sects of Protestant, martyrs, emboweled, beheaded, or burnt by the commands of the more able and politic, but little
less sanguinary, sister of the'bloody Mary,' and by other Protestant princes
and authorities, would be a safe or suitable one to be placed in the hands
of his children.  The high-minded and magnanimous Protestant will feel
that'the quality of mercy is not strained-it droppeth as the gentle rain
from heaven' on Catholic as well as Protestant; and that it would be intolerant as it would be unjust and unmanly to ask any immunity from  laws
or official regulations for himself which he would not as freely concede to
Catholic, or even heretic.  This brings us to the third rule:
" 3. Works, avowedly on other topics, which abound in direct and unreserved
attacks on, or defenses of, the character of any religious sect; or those which
hold up any religious body to contempt or execration, by singling out or bringing
together only the darker parts of its history or character, shall be excluded from
the school libraries.
" Is it said that under the above rules, heresy and error are put upon the
same footing with true religion-that Protestant and Catholic, orthodox and
unorthodox, Universalist, Unitarian, Jew, and even Mormon, derive the same
immunity! The fact is conceded; and it is averred that each is equally en



THIRD  PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.                   T75
titled to it in a government whose very constitution avows the principle of
a full and indiscriminate religious toleration. * * * * * * * * * *
" Books written avowedly to attack or defend political parties should be
excluded; histories, biographies, or other works, incidentally betraying the
political predilections of the writer, may be admitted; but works which,
though even ostensibly on other topics, contain repeated and direct attacks
on, or defenses of, any political party, should be excluded. * * * Works
discussing what may be legitimately termed politics-that is, the science of
government-and which do not assume a partisan character, are properly
admissible into the libraries. The Federalist, Debates in the Virginia and
New York Conventions, De Tocqueville's Democracy in America, come
under this head."
Biographical and Historical works are included in the
same  category.  Works of Fiction, or  Novels and Romances of the highest class, such as the Waverley Novels,
the  Vicar  of Wakefield, Rasselas,  the  Pilgrim's  Progress, &c., selected  with  rigorous  discrimination,  are
also  approved.   Poetical works  of standard  excellence
are eloquently commended: Dante, Byron, Shelley, Milton,  Young,  Gray,  Cowper, Thomson,  Henry  Kirke
White, Burns, Wordsworth, Campbell, and Mrs. Hemans;
Homer, Tasso, Camoens; Spenser and Shakspeare; Malherbe,  Corneille,  and  Racine; Lessing,. Schiller, and
Goethe; Bryant, Halleck, Dana, Mrs. Sigourney, Percival, Willis, and Gould-are specially mentioned with approbation.  "Who  ever rose," he observes, "from  the
perusal of Wordsworth's  Tintern  Abbey, or Bryant's
Thanatopsis, without feeling that he had drunk in the
moral of all human philosophy?  Milton's Comus, Gray's
Elegy, and wild and impassioned'Bard,' Burns' Cotter's
Saturday  Night, Kirke White's Ode to Genius, as well
as innumerable detached passages which might be cited
from all the higher poets, furnish examples, varying in
intensity, of the  same mystic power."   lie  adds in  a
note, "And, among  these  chef d'eauvres, I hesitate not
to name the'Camp  Meeting  Hymn,' commencing'O




176            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
Thou in whose presence,' the authorship of which is
unknown to me. Whoever the author was, he was no
stranger to the'ample pinions which the Theban eagle
bore.'  Indeed, every line reminds us of the sublime
fire of Pindar.  He who has heard it uplifted by the
voices of thousands, in the depths of an American forest, will feel that its beauties have not been exaggerated."
In conclusion, he observes, "A well-selected library
for general use should embrace a wide variety of topics.
Men's tastes differ almost as much as their persons.
Probably every one has decided mental predispositions
or biases, developed or undeveloped; and if these are
properly appealed to, the best and strongest qualities
of the mind are called into action.  Touch the wrong
cord again and again, and we obtain no response. Defoe's Essay on Projects was the spear of Ithuriel to
the undisclosed  energies  of Franklin.  The creative
genius of Shakspeare, the sublime majesty of Milton,
even the vast and all-embracing philosophy of Bacon,
might have failed to reach these. Malebranche had devoted himself to the cloister; an accidental opening of
Descartes' Treatise on Man at once  revealed what
perhaps was as little known to himself as to others-the
germ  of philosophy implanted in his mind. We have
no right to aver that any work on the same topic, or
any method of treating it, would have produced the
same effects.  The waters of the rivers of Damascus
may be as healing and limpid as those of the Jordan,
but- the latter alone can work the miracle. And it is
well that it is so.  It is well that mind has a natural
channel through which to pour its energies, and that
it seeks that channel. A literature without individuality were like a landscape in the midst of a desert



THIRD  PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.                       177
one vast plain, stretching as far as the eye could reach
in  every  direction, in  dull  and  dreary  uniformity  and
lifelessness."
Gov. BoUCK, in  his  message  to  the  Legislature  of
1844, thus alluded  to  the  condition  and  prospects  of
the Common Schools:
" No interest of the State is entitled to a more favorable regard or a
greater share of attention at the hands of the Legislature than that of public
instruction. The intellectual and moral culture of the six or seven hundred
thousand children who are speedily to succeed to the generation now on the
stage of active life, and to assume the duties and responsibilities as well of
government as of society in all its departments, involves in its consequences
the existence and destinies of the Republic itself, and cannot be neglected
without danger to the vital interests of free institutions.    *  *+
" The substitution of a single officer charged with the supervision of the
Common Schools of each town, for the board of commissioners and inspectors formerly existing, and the supervisory and appellate powers of the
several county superintendents, as defined by the law of the last session,
seem to have met with the general approbation and concurrence of the
people. Conventions and associations of the friends of education have, during the past year, been held in almost every section of the State, indicating
a concentration of interest and a direction of effort to this great subject
which cannot fail to produce the most salutary results. The standard of
qualification of teachers has been materially advanced; parents and the
people generally manifest an increased interest in the welfare and prosperity
of these elementary institutions of learning; and there are the most abundant reasons for anticipating a steady and continued improvement in all the
elements of our extended system of Common School education."
From   the  annual report of  the  Superintendent, it
appeared  that the  number  of  school  districts  in  the
State had increased to 10,875, in which 657,782 children
out of 671,000, between  the  ages of five  and  sixteen,
had  been  instructed  during  the  year  reported  (1842).
Col. YOUNG observes:
" We may reasonably congratulate ourselves upon the accession of a new
order of things in relation to the practical workings of our system. Through
the medium of an efficient county and town supervision, we have succeeded'
not only in preparing the way for a corps of teachers thoroughly competent
to communicate intellectual, moral, and physical instruction-themselves
enlightened and capable of enlightening their pupils-but also in demolish12




1t8                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
ng the numerous barriers which have hitherto prevented intercommunication between the several districts. An extended feeling of interest in the
condition and progress of the several schools has been awakened; and, in
addition to the periodical inspections of the county and town superintendents, the trustees and inhabitants are now, in many portions of the State,
beginning frequently to visit the schools of their district, striving to ascertain their advancement, to encourage the exertions of teachers and pupils,
and to remove every obstacle arising from their previous indifference. Incompetent teachers are beginning to find the avenues to the Common
Schools closed against them; and the demand on the part of the districts
for a higher grade of instructors is creating a supply of enlightened educators, adequate to the task of advancing the youthful mind in its incipient
efforts to acquire knowledge.  The impetus thus communicated to the
schools of one town and county is speedily diffused among those of others.
Through periodical and frequent meetings of town and county associations of
teachers and friends of education, the improvements adopted in any one dist.ict are made known to all; and the experience, observations, and suggestions of each County superintendent annually communicated through their
published reports to all. By these means the stream of popular education,
purified at its source, and relieved from many of its former obstructions, is dispensing its invigorating waters over a very considerable portion of the State.
" The reports of the several County superintendents exhibit unequivocal
evidence of efficient exertions on their part in the performance of the responsible duties assigned to them by law, and by the instructions of this department. To their efforts is to be attributed, to a very great extent, the revolution in public sentiment, by which the district school, from being the object
of general aversion and reproach, begins to attract the attention and regards
of all. To their enlightened labors for the elevation and advancement of
these elementary institutions we owe it, in a great measure, that new and
improved modes oi teaching, of government, and of discipline, have succeeded in a very large proportion of the districts to those which have
hitherto prevailed; that a higher grade of qualifications for teachers has
been almost universally required; that parents have been induced to visit
and take an interest in the schools; that private and select schools have
been to a considerable extent, discountenanced, and the entire energies of
the inhabitants of districts concentrated on the district school; and that
the importance, the capabilities, and extended means of usefulness of these
nurseries ol knowledge and virtue are beginning to be adequately appreciated in nearly every section of the State.  Collectively considered, these
officers have well vindicated the confidence reposed in them by the Legislature and the people, and justified the anticipations of the friends of education."
These high encomiums from the Governor and Superintendent of the ability and efficiency of the great body




THIRD PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.         179
of County superintendents originally appointed by the
several boards of supervisors, and of the beneficent results produced by their exertions and influence upon the
Common School system of the State, were well and most
abundantly deserved. Among their number were such
men as FRANCIS DWIGHT, of Albany, the accomplished
editor of the District School Journal; JABEZ D. HAMMOND, of Otsego, author of the Political History of the
State; WILLIAM L. STONE, long and familiarly known as
the editor of the Commercial Advertiser and the historian
of Brandt, and JOSEPH MCKEEN, of New York; HENRY
S. RANDALL, of Cortland, afterward Secretary of State
and Superintendent of Common Schools, and the wellknown author of the Life of Jefferson; ALBERT and WILLIAM WRIGHT, of Washington; THEODORE F. KING, of
Brooklyn; the Hon. HALSEY R. WING, of Warren;
THOMAS BARLOW, and EDWARD MANCHESTER, of Madison; IRA MAYHEW, of Jefferson, afterward State Superintendent of Michigan, and the author of many standard
educational works; JACOB S. DENMAN, of Tompkins, the
energetic founder and promoter of teachers' institutes;
DAVID G. WOODIN, afterward State Senator, and JAMES
CARVER; JAMES HENRY, Jr., of Herkimer, an eccentric
genius, but faithful and efficient officer; STEPHEN MIOULTON, and ELON COMSTOCK, of Oneida; ALEXANDER FONDA, of Schenectady; CHARLES C. SEVERANCE, and O. G.
STEELE, of Erie; NICHOLAS C. BLAUVELT, of Rockland;
ALANSON EDWARDS, and CHAUNCEY GOODRICH, of Onondaga; TRA PATCHIN, of Livingston; ABRAHAM G. HARDENBURGH, of Ulster; PIERPONT POTTER, of Queens;
LYSANDER H. BROWN, of Jefferson; HENRY E. ROCHESTER, of Monroe; F. B. SPRAGUE, of Fulton; JOHN B.
BOWEN, of Cayuga; A. S. CLEMENT, of Dutchess; H. C.
WHEELER, of Yates; DAVID NAY, of Genesee; O. W.




180            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
RANDALL, of Oswego; D. S. T. DOUGLAS, of Clinton;
D. H. STEVENS, of Franklin; JOHN M. HAWES, of Cattaraugus; ROSWELL K. BOIJRNE, of Chenango; J. C.
TOOKER, of Orange; HENRY C. WHEELER, of Yates;
ZEBULON P. BURDICK, of Rensselaer; THEODORE  N.
BISHOP, of Seneca; ALDEN S. STEVENS, of Wyoming; E.
G. STORKE, of Cayuga; R. K. FINCH, of Steuben; and
others, their associates in the several counties, of equal
zeal and efficiency.  Through the severest storms and
drifts of winter, and the sultriest days of summer, they
penetrated to the most distant and obscure recesses of the
territory under their supervision, visiting and inspecting
the several schools, ascertaining the qualifications of the
teachers, calling together the inhabitants and officers,
counseling with them on all the affairs of the district, the
condition of its school-house, the selection of its library,
and the adjustment of its controversies, and infusing
their own spirit into all the details of its administration
and enlisting the interest of the people in the education of their children; gathering, once in each year, all
the schools of each town, at some central place, for general review and inspection, public addresses, and other
exercises; and forming county associations for the promotion of the great interests they had so deeply at
heart. Never before or since has so much been accomplished, in so short a period of time, for the advancement
and improvement of our Common Schools.  In the long
interval succeeding the abolition of this class of officers,
and prior to the re-establishment of the discarded system, there was, as will hereafter be seen, a general and
marked retrogradation in the character, efficiency, and
general prosperity of the schools, a falling off of interest in their welfare, a carelessness and absence of energy in their local administration, and an indifference in




THIRD PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.         181
public sentiment, which, to a very considerable extent,
paralyzed the exertions of the Department, and grievously disappointed the hopes, and discouraged the efforts,
of the friends of education.
The discussions in the Utica Convention on the subject of NORMAT  SCHOOLS, and the decided grounds in
favor of such an institution taken by the State Superintendent in his annual report of the present year, served
powerfully to direct the attention of the friends of Common School education to this important measure. Mr.
HULBURD, of St. Lawrence, who was again at the head
of the Assembly Committee on Colleges, Academies, and
Common Schools, took occasion, during the early part of
the session of 1844, to visit the several Normal Schools
of Massachusetts, observe their practical working, make
himself thoroughly acquainted with the principles upon
which they were founded, and to collect a valuable body
of information in regard to the general history and specific operations of similar institutions in Europe. On
the 22d of March he submitted an elaborate and eloquent
report,  embracing the entire subject; reviewing the previous legislation of the State in reference to the establishment of teachers' departments for this purpose in the
academiies, and demonstrating the utter inefficiency and
incompetency of these departments to supply the demand for qualified teachers throughout the State; giving
a concise history of the origin and progress of Normal
Schools in Europe and America, with a detailed account
of their operations in Massachusetts; and recommending
the appropriation from the income of the literature fund
of $9,600 for the establishment, and $10,000 annually
thereafter for the support and maintenance, of a STATE
NORMAL SCHOOL, to be located in the city of Albany,
for the education and proper preparation of teachers of




182                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
Common Schools, of both sexes, and to be composed of pupils selected from the several counties of the State in proportion to the representation of such counties in the popular branch of the Legislature. The committee observe:
" It will appear that the principal reliance of the friends and supporters
of the Common Schools for an adequate supply of teachers has, from a very
early period, been upon the academies; that the inability of the latter to
supply the demand induced, in 1827, an increase of $150,000 to the fund
applicable to their support, for the express purpose of enabling them to
accomplish this object; that the Regents of the University, the guardians of
these institutions, explicitly recognized the condition on which it was granted,
accepted the trust, and undertook its performance; that, to use the language
of one of the Superintendents,'the design of the law was not sustained by
the measures necessary to give it the form and effect of a system;' that, to
remedy this evil, one academy was specially designated in each Senate district, with an endowment of $500, to provide the necessary means and facilities of instruction, and an annual appropriation of $400 for the maintenance
of a department for the education of teachers; that soon afterward the sum
of $28,000 was added to the literature fund, from the avails of the United
States deposit fund, and eight additional academies required to organize
and maintain similar departments; that finally the number of these departments was augmented to twenty-three, and every exertion put forth to secure
the great results originally contemplated in their establishment; and that,
in the judgment of successive Superintendents of Common Schools, the Regents of the University, and the most eminent and practical friends of education throughout the State, these institutions, whether considered in the
aggregate, or with reference to those specially delegated from time to time
for the performance of this important duty of supplying the Common Schools
with competent teachers, have not succeeded in the accomplishment of that
object.' Having, therefore,' to revert again to the language of the Superintendent before referred to,'proved inadequate to the ends proposed,' may
not now'a change of plan be insisted on, without being open to the objection
of abandoning a system which has not been fairly tested?' And have the
academies any just reason to complain, if they are not longer permitted to
enjoy undiminished the liberal appropriation conferred upon them by the
State for a specific object, which they have not been able satisfactorily to
accomplish? "
After  giving  a  detailed  history  of the  origin  and
progress of Normal Schools in  Europe  and  Massachusetts, and of the prominent peculiarities of the system,
its methods of instruction, &c., the committee proceed:




THIRD  PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.                          183
"A good teacher cannot be prepared as a merchant or manufacturer fills
an order for goods. Even Adam Smith excepts education from the mercantile or economical law, that the supply will follow and equal the demand.'In every age, even among the heathen,' says Martin Luther,'the necessity
has been felt of having good school-masters, in order to make any thing
respectable of a ration. But, surely, we are not to sit still and wait until
they grow up of themselves.  We can neither chop them  out of wood nor
hew them out of stone.  God will work no miracles to furnish that which we
have the means to provide.  We must, therefore, apply our care and money
to train up and make them.'' By common consent, it is necessary to serve an apprenticeship of years
to know how to make a hat, a shoe, a coat, or erect a building.  A  common
understanding seems to prevail among most Christian denominations that no
one shall be recognized as rightfully having'the cure of souls,' who has not,
preparatory to the exercise of that function, spent some time with an approved
divine, or at some seminary specially instituted for the education of the ministry. The State, too, has not regarded it as beneath its care to require that
no man shall be recognized as competent to take charge, in its courts of
justice, of the property, the reputation, or the life of his fellow-men, until he
has gone through a course of seven years' study, three of which are to be spent
in the office of a practicing lawyer. It has also denied hitherto, to those who
assume the care of the body, the aid of its laws to collect pay for their services, unless a fixed course of study or attendance upon lectures has been rigidly pursued and properly certified.  Yet, thus far, neither common consent,
nor common understanding, nor statutory provision have required any apprenticeship, any special education, the spending of any fixed term of time, preparatory to entering upon an employment where is laid the very foundation
of all these superstructures. Here inexperienced, unskillful hands are permitted to make experiments to perfect themselves; and yet the subjects of these
experiments are immortal beings!
"It is the teacher's high prerogative to develop the faculties of human
beings. If he mistake his calling, if he mistake the true principles of his
art-to educate, to develop-and aim merely to instruct, to instil-not only
the child, but the nman will carry to the grave the sad effects of this ignorance
and incompetency.  Such a course stunts and dwarfs the whole mental and
moral nature; it renders the intellect a mere passive recipient of words and
signs-and words and signs only, instead of ideas it will evolve; it will be
clothed with a vesture of apparent information, but the power, the originality,
the expansion of the mind, are enfeebled, constrained, and circumscribed.  It
creates the form-it constructs the mechanism-of education, without breathing into it a living soul. It prepares the child to make use of his acquisitions
just as the ancient Roman artist did, who was taught to copy with life-like
precision the Grecian master-pieces-just as does the serf of the Russian
noble, who is trained to execute at command difficult pieces of music, or
make fac-similes of paintings of the best modern Italian or Flemish masters
without the slightest advance of the operative or intellectual stature, or without one power of producing an original conception.




184                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
"How many of our ten thousand teachers have ever known that education-even a Common School education-should be directed to the due development, the symmetrical cultivation of the physical, the moral, and the
intellectual faculties of every child? How many have known the constant,
careful, practical use to be made of this knowledge, if possessed, in the
treatment of every child; that to educate the moral powers, to the exclusion
or total neglect of the intellectual, would be detrimental in the extremerendering their subject the victim of superstition, and the sport of passing
delusion; while to educate the intellect, to the neglect of the moral nature,
would be to give talent and power without principle-in other words, to
educate for the penitentiary, the prison cell, the scaffold, or the grave of
the suicide?
"Again, how many are ignorant of the distinction between intellect and
feeling-between ideas and emotions-know not that these two classes of
mental operations are called into activity by very different objects, cultivated
by different processes; and that as one or the other predominates, in the
mental constitution, very different results, both in conduct and character,
are produced!'Oh woe for those who trample on the mind,
That deathless thing! they know not what they do,
Nor what they deal with! Man, perchance, may bind
The flower his foot hath bruised; or light anew
The torch he quenched; or to sweet music wind
Again the lyre-string from his touch that flew:
But for the soul! oh tremble and beware
To lay rude hands upon God's mysteries there!'
"In addition to the true discernment of his duty as an educator, there are
other requisites, without which, perhaps, no one should be permitted to have
the care of the young. Time will not permit us to dwell here upon the importance of a teacher's social and moral qualifications-his mildness, his
generosity, his patience, his sense of decorum, his kindness, his cheerfulness, his love of virtue, his reverence for his Maker. These constitute the
most precious traits, the richest ornaments of childhood: and there is no
parent so debased as not to desire, even in the depth of his debasement,
that his child should grow up the possessor of all these qualities.  Yet
how often have the very means that should have implanted and cherished
all these graces been neglected in the unsuitable selection of a teacher, the
constituted delegate of the parent! How can the teacher cause his pupil to
feel the truth and beauty of what has never touched or entered his own soul?
" We are, sometimes, almost tempted to believe that much of what has
been written and sung about our earliest moments is but the dreaming of a
beautiful fancy: and yet, who that pauses amid' being's busy bustle,' and
thinks upon childhood-all its joys and its brief tears-its soft purity and its
brave gentleness-its charity that'thinketh no evil'-its hope that' believthe all things'-does notfeel, as well as know, that it is the one green spot




THIRD  PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.                        185
to which manhood often looks back, and sighs that but once only through
it runs the thoroughfare of individual existence? How rarely, too, is the
evening of any life so dark that the dimmed eye of age, sightless though it
be to all things present, does not fix and fasten upon that far off auroral
brightness! How easily are we thus, by observation and experience, brought
to believe that
"Heaven lies about us in our infancy!'
" If thus pure and precious and permanent are the impressions of childhood, how inappreciably important the character of the agents that produce
them! The parent-the mother-is the first natural observer of these glimpses of a higher nature. How easilly we can excuse that beautiful superstition which teaches her that the smiles of her sleeping infant are'gleams of
fairy visitings' or angel ministrations! * * * Too soon, by the force of
circumstances, the child is removed from maternal guidance, and placed
under the care of the school-master. Shall that most sensitive plant blossom
with culture, or droop by neglect? Shall it expand in part, and be blighted
in part? Shall it grow up with noxious excrescences and unsightly distortions, or exhibit the graceful proportions of symmetrical beauty? Under
God, these are questions that for answer depend almost wholly upon the
character and the qualifications of the teacher."
In  reference  to  the  more   general  employment  of
competent and  well qualified female  teachers, and  their
proper preparation for the duties of the profession, the
committee  observe:
" It is not the result of gallantry, or of that complaisant homage which in
every refined and Christian nation is the accorded due of the female sex,
that has given to that sex an unequivocal preference in teaching and controlling
the young. It is not superior science, but superior skill in the use of that
science-it is the manner and the very weakness of the teacher that constitutes her strength, and assures her success.  For that occupation she is
endued with peculiar faculties. While man's nature is rough, stern, impatient, ambitious, hers is gentle, tender, enduring, unaspiring. One always
wins; the other sometimes repels: t'e one is loved; the other sometimes feared.
Kindness and quickness of apprehension, frank sympathy with the young,
endear and attach; and when the scholar's confidence and attachment are
once gained, he is henceforth easily taught and governed. In childhood,
the intellectual faculties are but partially developed-the affections much
more fully. At that early age, the affections are the key of the whole being.
The female teacher readily possesses herself of that key, and thus, having
access to the heart, the mind is soon reached and operated upon; while the
male teacher seeks, in direct approaches to the understanding, to implant
scientific truth. Hence we have the solution of the problem of the superior




186                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
success of female teachers with small scholars. While, also, the habits of
female teachers are better and their morals purer, they are much more apt to
be content with, and continue in, the occupation of teaching. It is an employment to which they are peculiarly adapted, and wherever they have
attempted they have succeeded. In Massachusetts, where females have been
most employed, they have been most appreciated. At the Normal Schools
in that State, where both sexes were received, and where only such were adrmitted as signified their intention to become teachers, the number of females
over males preponderated more than three to one.
"It will be noticed that the committee speak of the establishment of one
Normal School. Did our present means seem to warrant it, the committee
would, with confidence, recommend the immediate establishment of at least
one in each of the eight Senatorial districts. If one is now established, and
that is properly endowed and organized, there cannot be a doubt that not
only one will be called for in each of the eight Senatorial districts, but that
in a brief period very many of the large counties will insist upon having one
established within their limits. The establishment of one is but an experiment-if that can be called an experiment which, for more than a century,
~has been in operation without a known failure-which, if successful, will
lead the way to several others. It is believed that several of the academies
now in operation can and will be converted into Normal Seminaries when
the proper period arrives: in this way there will be no loss of academic
investment, and the great interests of the public will be as well, or better,
subserved than they are at present.
"The committee believe the experiment should be tried at the Capital;
if it cannot be tested in presence of all the people, it should be before all the
representatives of the people. As a government measure, it is untried in this
State; the result, therefore, will be of deep interest. Here, at each annual
session of the Legislature, can be seen for what and how the public money is
expended; here can be seen the exhibition of the pupils of the seminary and
of the model school; here, if unsuccessful, no report of interested officials can
cover up its failure, or prevent the abandonment of the experiment; here
citizens from all parts of the State, who resort to the Capital during the session of the Legislature, the terms of the courts, &c., can have an opportunity
of examining the workings of the Normal School system-of learning the
best method of teaching, and all the improvements in the science and practice of the art-those who in the Spring and Autumn pass through the city
to and from the great metropolis, and those who from all parts of the Union
make their annual pilgrimage to the Fountain of Health, will pause here
to see what the Empire State is doing to promote the education of her
people."
The  bill reported  by  the  committee  was  ably  and
vigorously  supported  by  Mr. HULBURD  and  the  Hon.
MICHAEL HOFFMAN, of Herkimer, and passed both




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THIRD PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.          18T
houses on the 7th of May. The institution was, by the
terms of the act, placed under the direction of the Superintendent of Common Schools and the Regents of
the University, who were authorized and required, from
time to time, to make all needful rules and regulations
for its management and government, and to appoint an
executive committee, consisting of five persons, including the Superintendent of Common Schools, to whom
its immediate government and direction should be committed.
In pursuance of this act, the Regents, on the 1st
of June, appointed Col. SAMUEL YOUNG, Superintendent of Common Schools; Rev. Dr. ALONZO POTTER,
Rev. Dr. WILLIAM H. CAMPBELL, the Honorable GIDEON
HAWLEY, and FRANCIS DWIGHT, Esq., members of the
Executive Committee; who proceeded to adopt the necessary measures for the organization and establishment
of the institution. DAVID P. PAGE, of Newburyport,
Mass., was appointed Principal; GEORGE R. PERKINS,
of Utica, Professor of Mathematics; FREDERICK I. ILSLEY, of Albany, Teacher of Music; and J. B. HOWARD,
of Rensselaer, Teacher of Drawing. A suitable building
was procured in an eligible location for the temporary
occupancy of the school; and on the 18th of December,
1844, the institution was formally opened by a public
address from the Superintendent of Common Schools.
Twenty-nine pupils only were in attendance; this number speedily increased to upward of one hundred; and
an experimnental or model school for practice, comprising
upward of a hundred children of both sexes, was, at
the commencement of the second term, attached to the
institution.
The introduction of TEACHERS' INSTITUTES, as a con-i
stituent portion of the Common School system, in con



188            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
nection with the practical preparation of teachers, was,
at this time, in full and successful operation, and destined speedily to take its place as one of the most
important features in the progress of educational improvement. The subject was first brought to the attention of the friends of education by a series of resolutions submitted to the Tompkins County Teachers'
Association in October, 1842, by J. S. DENMAN, the
efficient superintendent of that county, setting forth the
necessity of united and efficient action on the part of
teachers for the elevation of their profession and of the
standard of Common School education generally, and
recommending the establishment in that county of an
institute where all the teachers might meet semi-annually in the Spring and Fall, preparatory to the commencement of the Summer and Winter terms, for the
purpose of receiving instruction and -listening to lectures from scientific educators, and in the discussion of
plans for the improvement of the schools and the most
approved methods of teaching  and  discipline.  This
proposition having been received with great favor, the
first Teachers' Institute was opened at Ithaca on the
fourth day of April, 1843, under the supervision of Mr.
DENMAN, assisted by SALEM  TowN, of Cayuga; Prof.
JAMES B. THOMSON, of Auburn, and the Rev. DAVID
POWELL, as instructors and lecturers. Twenty-eight teachers were in attendance, and instruction was given daily,
for a term  of two weeks, in the best modes of governing and teaching, including a critical analysis and
review of the various elementary and many of the higher
branches of education. During the Autumn of the same
year several similar institutions were opened in different
sections of the State; and, in the succeeding year,
their operations were greatly enlarged and extended.




THIRD  PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.                      189
At the opening of the session of the Legislature of
1845, Governor  SILAS WRIGHT, in  his  annual message,
thus  eloquently   alluded  to  the  subject  of  Common
School education
"No public fund of the State is so unpretending, yet so all-pervadingso little seen, yet so universally felt-so mild in its exactions, yet so bountiful in its benefits-so little feared or courted, and yet so powerful-as the
fund for the support of Common Schools. The other funds act. upon the
secular interests of society, its business, its pleasures, its pride, its passions,
its vices, its misfortunes. This acts upon its mind and its morals. Education is to free institutions what bread is to human life-the staff of their
existence. The office of this fund is to open and warm the soil, and sow the
seed from which this element of freedom must grow and ripen into maturity;
and the health or sickness of the growth will measure the extent and security of our liberties. The thankfulness we owe to those who have gone
before us, for the institution of this fund, for its constitutional protection,
and for its safe and prudent administration hitherto, we can best repay by
imitating their example, and improving upon their work, as the increased
means placed in our hands shall give us the ability.
"Few, if any, instances are upon record in which a fund of this description has been administered, and its bounties dispensed through a period of'forty years, with so few suspicions, accusations, or complaints of the interference of either political or religious biases to disturb the equal balance by
which its benefits should be extended to our whole population. Our school
fund is not instituted to make our children and youth either partisans in politics
or sectarians in religion, but to give them education, intelligence, sound principles, good moral habits, and a free and independent spirit-in short, to
make them American freemen and American citizens, and to qualify them to
judge and choose for themselves in matters of politics, religion, and government. Such an administration of the fund as shall be calculated to render
this qualification the most perfect for the mature minds, with the fewest influences tending to bias the judgment or incline the choice, will be the most
consonant with our duties and with the best interests of our constituents.
Under such an administration, education will most flourish, and the peace
and harmony of society be best preserved."
From   the  annual report  of  the  Superintendent, it
appeared that in 10,990 school districts the number of
children  taught during  the  year was  709,156, or  more
than  fifty  thousand  greater  than  that  of  the  preceding  year.   The  amount paid  for  teachers' wages  was
$992,222,  of  which   $447,566,  or  nearly  one-half,  was




190                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
raised  on  rate  bills;  the  expenditure  for the  several
district  libraries  was  $94,950.54;  and  the  aggregate
number of  volumes  in  the  several libraries, 1,038,396.
The  productive  capital  of  the  Common  School fund
was $1,992,916.35, from  the avails of which  the  sum  of
$275,000 was  apportioned  for  school  and  library  purposes.   An  equal sum   was  raised  upon  the  several
counties  by  their  respective  boards  of  supervisors;
$18,000 by  voluntary  vote  of  towns;  $200,000  in  the
several cities under special laws; and $18,000 fLom  the
avails of local funds.
In reference to the operations of the several County
superintendents during  the  preceding  year, Col. YOUNG
remarks:
" The influence exerted by this class of officers on the promotion of the
interests of elementary instruction throughout the State has been, in most
counties, very favorable. By a periodical and careful supervision of the several schools, by occasional lectures, frequent visitations, judicious counsels,
and the communication to the inhabitants, officers, and teachers of each district and each town of the various improvements in the art and science of
instruction which may from time to time have been discovered, and by composing local dissensions, they are enabled to combine the system into one
harmonious and efficient whole, to concentrate public opinion in its favor, and
widely to diffuse its benefits and blessings. From the results of their labors
during the past year, it appears that a gradual but very perceptible improvement in the general condition of the schools is in progress; that the standard
of qualifications of teachers has been advanced; that an increasing interest
in the subject of education has been manifested on the part of the public generally, and especially by parents; that more enlightened and efficient modes
of mental discipline are becoming prevalent, antiquated prejudices disappearing, and the paramount importance of an early and general diffusion of
knowledge more widely appreciated.
"These are encouraging symptoms. There can, indeed, be little doubt
that the systematic exertions of the several County and town superintendents,
in conjunction with the trustees and other officers of the several districts, have
mainly contributed to give that impulse to the public sentiment, in this respect,
which has resulted so auspiciously. Seventy county officers, possessing the
confidence of their fellow-citizens generally, distinguished for their devotion
to the cause of education, and for their scientific attainments and moral worth,
acting under the immediate direction and supervision of the State Superin



THIRD PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.                        191
tendent, and each, within the district assigned to him, carrying into efficient
operation a system of local supervision, instruction, and discipline, sanctioned
by the most enlightened experience of the age, aided and sustained by nine
hundred town officers, imbued with the same spirit, and participating in the
same generous emulation, and operating, directly or indirectly, through the
agency of the trustees, upon the teachers of nearly eleven thousand school districts, must necessarily exert a powerful influence in carrying forward the spirit
of improvement, in diffusing knowledge, and in promoting the advancement
of sound learning.   *              *      *      *       *      *       *
"In no less than seventeen of the largest counties,'Teachers' Institutes'
have been established during the past two years, in which upward of one
thousand teachers have been instructed, during periods varying from two toi
six or eight weeks immediately preceding the commencement of their respective terms of instruction, by the most competent and experienced educators
whose services could be procured, in conjunction with and under the immediate supervision of the County superintendent. * * * Among the numerous improvements which the experience of past imperfections has introduced
into the practical operation of our system of Common Schools, there is none
which combines greater utility and value than these local and temporary
institutions; and, in the judgment of the Superintendent, they are highly
deserving of legislative aid." *           *      *       *      * 
In  conclusion, the Superintendent observes:
" There is much in the prospect thus opened to us cheering and encouraging to the friends of free institutions, to the friends of education, and of
civil, social, and moral progress. The great idea of education, in its most
comprehensive acceptation, consists in that development, culture, and discipline of all the faculties of our nature which shall fit us for the highest
sphere of usefulness, and the highest degree of enjoyment of which that
nature, in the circumstances by which we are surrounded, is susceptible. On
the flourishing condition of our schools repose the hopes of the present and
the destinies of the future. Without a sound moral and intellectual education, the function of self-government can neither be duly appreciated nor
successfully maintained. The constitutions of several of the South American
republics appeared theoretically to be well calculated to secure human liberty.
But paper provisions are powerless unless they are also impressed on the
hearts and combined with the intelligence of the people. Without an accurate knowledge of their rights and duties, and a determination to maintain them, no community can long be free; and the melancholy truth that
the South American republics have fallen into revolutionary decrepitude or
degenerated into military despotisms affords us an impressive admonition.
Indeed, without going beyond our own borders, premonitions of an antisocial spirit; of insubordination to law; of combinations to perpetrate violence, riot, incendiarism, and murder-are sufficiently alarming in their rapid
increase during the last few years. If the same spirit pervaded a majority of




192                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
the community, the existing governments would be at an end; and as human
society cannot exist without a superintending power of protection, the aid of
some more energetic and despotic form of government would necessarily be
invoked to administer justice, to maintain order, and to shield the poor
from  the exactions of the rich-the weak from  the aggressions of the
strong.
" The great extent of the American Republic; its rapidly increasing population; the diversity of habits, pursuits, productions, and interests, some of
which are regarded as hostile to others-render necessary, at all times, the
cultivation of a liberal spirit of forbearance and conciliation. Without the
diffusion of education, such a spirit, in sufficient strength to maintain harmony, cannot exist. It may be safely affirmed that there is now no people of
equal numbers on the face of the earth, who, if placed under such institutions
as ours, would maintain the government for a single year. And unless moral
and intellectual culture shall, at least, keep pace with the increase of numbers, this Republic will assuredly fall. On the careful cultivation in our
schools of the minds of the young the entire success or absolute failure of the
great experiment of self-government is wholly dependent; and unless that
culture is increased, and made more effective than it has yet been, the conviction is solemnly impressed by the signs of the times that the American
Union, now the asylum  of the oppressed and' the home of the free,' will,
ere long, share the melancholy fate of every former attempt at self-government. That Union is and must be sustained by the moral and intellectual
power of the community; and every other power is wholly ineffectual.
Physical force may generate hatred, fear, and repulsion, but never can produce union. THE ONLY SALVATION FOR THE REPUBLIC IS TO BE SOUGHT FOR
IN OUR SCHOOLS. It is here that the seeds of liberty and of good government
must be sown and made to germinate and grow, and produce rich fruit in
abundance. Every improvement that can be given to these primary institutions affords an additional guaranty for the permanent maintenance of
rational freedom.
" The duration of the life of man should be estimated, not by the years of
his physical existence-which would be to degrade him to the level of the
brute-but by the period of the expansion and enjoyment of his moral and
intellectual faculties. Hence it has been affirmed with philosophic truth
that'he who shortens the road to knowledge lengthens life.' The cradle
and the grave are in such close proximity, even when the interval is most
extended, that human existence may be regarded as nearly a blank, unless
the early portion of the brief space by which they are separated is sedulously
devoted to the development of the mind. The undying part of our nature
has been impressed by its Creator with an unconquerable desire for knowledge-not that limited acquaintance with the external forms of things which
is bestowed upon the animals by instinct, but a knowledge vastly more
minute and discursive, and which embraces within its scope all the properties and laws both of mind and matter. The earth itself, with all its appendages, is much too small a theater to satiate the inquisitiveness even of




THIRD  PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.                        193
children; and if human powers were commensurate with human aspirations, the daring ken of man would be thrown through the abyss of heaven
to the Ultima Thule of the works of God-to the farthest verge in fathomless space, in which the energies of creative power have not yet been consummated-to regions where the embryo nebulce of unformed worlds are in
the transition or the quiescent state, obedient to the primeval fiat of the
Almighty.
" It is in the period of youth, while the mind is unincumbered by secular
cares, that these aspirations, which have been bestowed for wise and holy
purposes, are the most insatiate; and it is then, when the curiosity is intense,
the memory retentive, and the habits plastic, that a broadcl foundation of
moral and intellectual culture should be laid. Every advancing step in the
communication of knowledge should be adapted to the capacity of the learner,
so that the entire process, from its commencement, shall be a continued and
gratifying intellectual exercise. The dull and repulsive routine of formne
times, and which is yet too much in vogue, converted the preparatory exercises in the acquisition of knowledge into a mere cold and mechanical effort
of memory; and, during the first years of the pupilage of children, the little
sufferers were daily subjected to the infliction of a species of mental treadmill,
whose monotonous evolutions produced only the brolken fragiments of words
ccithout meaning and sounds without sense. It is the business of the accomplished educator to remove every obstruction in the paths of knowledge-to
open in succession its aromatic fountains to the young aspirant-' to wake
the soul by gentle strokes of art'-and to call into healthful exercise all the
juvenile faculties.
"To combine in perfection the combined art and science of imparting
knowledge to the young is the work of time and of effort. Success in any of
the departments of human occupation can be commanded only by previous
care and preparation.  Without a knowledge of the nature of soils, of plants,
and of domestic animals, and also of the different modes of culture, the farmer
would be unsuccessful.  The artisan must be acquainted with the qualities of
the material subjected to his skill, and the best modes of converting it to the
purposes of utility. Without study and practice, the chemist would not be
able to pursue matter to its simple and elemental forms, and to ascertain its
properties by analysis and synthesis. If, then, the proper management of
inert matter cannot be usefully performed by unpracticed hands, who will
have the temerity to commit the living and immortal minds of children to the
careless and unskillful? Matter is subjected by its laws to constant mutation,
BUT THE IMPRESS WHICH, IN THIS LIFE, IS AFFIXED UPON THE M2IND IS
ETEKNAL!'
In  reviewing  the   administration   of  the   Common
School system   by  Col. YouNG, it  is  impossible  not to
perceive  the  vast impulse  which  was  given  to  all its
varied  operations by the penetrative and reflective mind,
13




194                COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
and  the  originality, energy, and  public  spirit of that
distinguished  statesman.   Bringing  to  the discharge  of
the peculiar duties of his  office as Superintendent no
previous experience, and imbued with  strong prejudices
against some  of  the  most prominent features of the
system   of public instruction  committed  to  his charge,
he not only speedily rendered himself familiar with its
details, but divesting  himself of all those  unfavorable
preconceptions  which  had  obtained  possession  of his
mind, dispassionately  surveyed  the  entire  bearings  of
the system, and, having  convinced himself of its value
and utility, devoted his best energies and all his powerful influence to  its advancement.   The  impress of his
vigorous mind  and  strong  understanding  will long  remain  upon  the  system   he  so well and  wisely  loved,
and so fondly and enthusiastically cherished.
Some of the peculiar and characteristic  traits of his
mind, and his happy facility of terse and strong expression, are to  be found in  his correspondence  with  the
officers and inhabitants of school districts for the  settlement  of  questions  in   controversy.   A   few   only,
involving  important principles, can be selected for this
purpose.
To an inquiry as to the propriety of the use of the
NEW   TESTAMENT  as a  readingl-book  in  the   Common
Schools, he replies:
"I regard the NEW TESTAMENT as in all respects a suitable book to be
daily read in our Common Schools, and I earnestly and cordially recommend
its general introduction for this purpose. As a mere reading-book, intended
to convey a practical knowledge of the English language in its purity and
simplicity, it is one of the best text-books in use; but this, although of great
utility to the pupils, is of minor importance, where the moral influences of
the book are duly considered. Education consists of something more than
mere instruction. It is that training and disciplining of all the faculties of
the mind which shall systematically and harmoniously develop the future
man for usefulness and for happiness in sustaining the various relations of




THIRD  PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.                        195
life. It must be based upon knowledge and virtue; and its gradual advancement must be strictly subordinated to those cardinal principles of morality
which are nowhere so clearly, and distinctly, and beautifully inculcated as in
that book from whence we all derive our common faith.  The highest and
most finished iitellectual cultivation. in the absence of careful and sound
moral discipline, can never accomplish the great end and aim of education.
It'plays round the head, but comes not near the heart.' It may constitute
the accomplished sceptic, the brilliant libertine, the splendid criminal-but
can never bestow upon mankind the benefactors of the race, the enlightened
philosopher, the practical statesman, the bold and fearless reformer. The
nursery and family fireside may accomplish much; the institutions of religion may exert a pervading influence; but what is commenced in the hallowed sanctuary of the domestic circle, and periodically inculcated at the
altar, must be daily and hourly recognized in the Common Schools, that it
may exert an ever-present influence-enter into and form part of every act of
the life-and become thoroughly incorporated with the rapidly-expanding
character.  There must not be one system of mental and moral discipline for
the family and another for the school-one for the closet and another for the
world. The same incomparable standard of moral virtue and excellence
which is expounded fiom the pulpit and the altar, and daily held up to the
imitation and admiration of the family circle, should also be reverently kept
before the mind and the heart in the daily exercises of the school.
" If these views are correct, where shall we look for lessons of innocence,
virtue, purity, and integrity, worthy to be compared with those which are
already, we may hope, endeared to the best affections of the children, in the
New Testament? Upon what more exalted standard shall we form the
future characters of those whose education is committed to our charge?
Parents and teachers should never forget that to them is entrusted the solemn
and responsible task not only of communicating knowledge and instruction,
but of forming, moulding, and directing the future character of the children
entrusted to their care. The direction which the susceptible mind of the
child is made to assume in the neglected district school may and does affect
not merely its own happiness or misery, but the happiness or misery of
thousands whom, in its diversified connections, it influences and controls. It
may be fraught with consequences which, in their results, may renovate
society, elevate the standard of public and private virtue, and carry forward
the destinies of the race to a point hitherto deemed unattainable; and, on the
other hand, may cast a withering and hopeless blight over the fairest prospects of humanity.
"'But I have said enough in illustration of the paramount importance
which I attach to moral and religious culture in our schools; and I trust no
objections will be interposed to the general introduction and daily use of the
TESTAMENT, not only in yours, but in every other school in the State."
To a brief note from a Jewish resident of New York,.
informing  him  that his  recent  "order to  introduce  the




196                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
NEW  TESTAMENT in  the public  schools  of the  State  of
New  York  would be the means of driving from  them  all
the children  of Jewish parents," he thus responds:
"What you deem  an' order  is no more than an earnest recomimendatio n,
submitted to the judgment, the discretion, and the conscience of those who
have the selection of books for district schools.
" I claim the right of frankly expressing my opinions, and I concede the
same right to all others, both Jews and Gentiles, believers and unbelievers;
nor would I adopt any order, nor exercise any power, other than the power
of persuasion, to change the conscientious belief of any human being, on any
subject whatever. I may think that the unalloyed doctrine of pure morality;
a love and reverence for the Creator; an attachment to truth, justice, and
purity; an abnegation of selfishness; a forgiveness of injuries; an abstinence
from revenge and cruelty; and a susceptibility to the claims of charity and
the impulses of benevolence-are more effectually inculcated and more indelibly impressed upon the minds of the young by the NEW TESTAMENT than any
other book whatever. I may believe that its requirements are more eminently
calculated to promote'peace on earth and good-will to men;' I may believe
that the Christian religion has done much to establish the great truth of
social equality that' God of one flesh has made all the children of men,' and
that it has been more efficacious in eradicating slavery and oppression; in
elevating the social condition of woman; in short, in softening and civilizing
mankind-than any other creed whatever. I may and do, after years of reading, reflection, and observation, believe all this. But I am aware that others,
doubtless with equally good intentions, Iliay entertain different notions of morality, and adopt other systems of human happiness, and, consequently, give a
preference to other creeds and other books. Over their consciences I shall
never attempt to exercise any control. Their whole responsibility is to a
much higher tribunal."
To   one   of   the   County   superintendents  (0.  W.
RANDALL, of Oswego) he writes:
"You inform me that your opinion that habitual profctity would be a
sufficient ground for annulling a teacher's certificate is deemed by some
teachers altogether too rigid, and you ask my views on this subject.
"I cannot imagine under what construction of law or code of morality an
individual addicted to habitual profanity could ever have obtained a certificate as a qualified teacher. But such a certificate having been procured, no
matter by what means, I should deem it the imperative duty of any tribunal
having the power, to affix upon it at the earliest moment the blot of annulment, and: if possible, of oblivion.
" Good moral character is made by the statute an indispensable requisite
to the qualification of a teacher. Profane cuising and swearing is a legal
offense, punishable by fine, and, in default of payment, by imprisonment.




THIRD  PERIOD.-SUPERVISION.                          19 
Can ebony be mistaken for topaz?  Can' good moral character' be ascribed
to him who'habitually' puts both the laws of God and man at defiance?
" Most of the crimes which afflict and disgrace society can plead that they
are based upon some of the animal gratifications.  It is to satisfy his real or
fictitious physical wants that the thief commits larceny.  The glutton, in
the indulgence of his appetite, is sustained by a precedent,'running on all
fours,' in the swine; and the gross debauchee can claim the goat and the
monkey as his brothers; but profanity is a spontaneous exhibition of iniquity
-a voluntee,, sin, committed without temptation and without reward-a bastard vice, destitute of parentage, and wholly disowned by nature. Phrenologists profess to find the location upon the human skull of all the animal
propensities. No one, however, has yet been able to detect the'bump' of
profanity.  Pandora's box is full without it; and the amateurs in human
mischief and human misery have superadded this as a mere gratuitous evil.
" I can conceive of nothing more horrible and repulsive than to send
innocent little children to a school where they will be taught, either by preceptor example, to stammer oaths and to lisp profanity.  This is to poison
the whole stream of life at its very source."
To  Mr. SPRAGUE, of Fulton, another superintendent,
who had  informed  him  that a few  of the teachers in  his
county  were  in  the  practice  of attending  balls,  &c., he
writes:
Having myself, when young, indulged in the practice which you name,
I cannot find it in my heart to utter an official reprimand against these
teachers.  I should be met by that troublesome text,'let him who is without
sin,' &c. In my youth I attended balls and danced, and I confess I have
never seen cause to regret it.
"I wish innocent amusements for the young could be multiplied, varied,
and macde so attractive as wholly to exclude all questionable or dangerous
indulgences.  Youth must and will have amusements and hours of relaxation; and the character of these amusements often leaves a durable impression. I wish there were twenty sports for the young, as innocent, as social,
as healthful, and exhilarating as dancing.  It appears to me that when
properly conducted-and any thing may be perverted and abused-it is not
only harmeless but beneficial.  It has been practiced in all ages, among all
nations, savage and civilized; and has been tolerated, if not encouraged, by
the great majority or sects, denominations, and creeds, of Jews, Christians,
and Pagans, fiom the beginning of the world to the present day.  Singing is
equally universal. It is applied to devotional as well as to secular exercises;
and if our minds were disencumbered of all the prepossessions of youth and
the prejudices of education, it would, perhaps, be difficult for us to prove
that dancing might not, with equal propriety, be applied to both purposes.
I am aware that my opinion, in these respects, will not be deemed orthodox
by all. Should it not meet with your approbation. you will please to
reject it."




FOURTH PERIOD.-1845 TO 1851.
THE FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.
SECTION  I.  ADMINISTRATION  OF SECRETARY  NATHANIEL S.
BENTON-I845 TO I848.
State Convention of County Superintendents at Syracuse. —The Bible
in the Public Schools.-Free Schools.-Col. Young.-Rev. Dr.
Alonzo Potter.  State Convention of Teachers.-Francis Dwight.
-Condition of the Common Schools.-Annual Reports of the
Superintendent.-Convention  of' County Superintendents at Albany.-Speech of Horace Mann.-The Free School Controversy.State Constitutional Convention.-Abolition of the Office of County
Superintendent.-Its Causes and Results.-Teachers' Institutes.Progress of the State Normal School.-Death of Principal Page.Free Academy of the City of New York.
N  the 3d of February, 1845, the Hon. NATHANIEL S.
BENTON, of Herkimer, was appointed Secretary of
State and ex-officio Superintendent of Common Schools.
Judge  BENTON  had  previously  filled, with  honor and
ability, a judicial position in his own county, and a seat
in the Senate of the State.  It is no disparagement to
him  to  say that his abilities were inferior to  those of
his distinguished predecessors in the department committed to his charge; but it is due to his memory to
say that, during his brief administration, he resisted, to
the utmost extent of his power and influence, the retrograde movements  of the  Legislature, in  reference  to
the supervision and consequent general efficiency of the
schools; that he was a firm  and devoted advocate of the
principle of FREE  SCHOOLS; and  that his administration of the Common  School system  was characterized
by an enlightened and discriminating regard to the public interests and welfare.




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.   199
During the preceding year several changes had been
made in the office of County Superintendent. Messrs.
RALPH H. SPENCER and J. J. ROCKAFELLOW had succeeded the former incumbents in Allegany; J. TAYLOR
BRODT, in Broonme; WORTHY PUTNAM, in Chautauque;
DAVID R. RANDALL, in Chenango; D. S. MCMASTERS, in
Clinton; S. J. FERGUSON, in Delaware; HENRY H. INGRAIHAM, in Dutchess; E. S. ELY, in Erie; P. MONTGOMERY,
in Jefferson; Hon. SAMUEL E. JOHNSON, in Kings;
SIDNEY SYLVESTER, in Lewis; MARSENA TEMPLE, in Madison; ALEXANDER MANN, in Monroe; Dr. D. MEREDITH
REESE, in place of Col. WILLIAM L. STONE, deceased;
JOSHUA COOKE, in Niagara; WILLIAM S. WETMORE, in
Oneida; ORSON BARNES, in Onondaga; AUGUSTUS T.
HOPKINS, in Ontario; HORACE K. STEWART, in Orange;
J. O. WILSEA, in Orleans; LEWIS R. PALMER, in Otsego;
MORGAN HORTON, in Putnam; P. H. THOMAS and J. B.
WILKINS, in Rensselaer; SEABURY ALLEN, in Saratoga;
JoHN H. SALISBURY, in Schoharie; CHARLES SENTELL,
in Seneca; CHARLES RICH and FREDERICK SPRAGUE, in
St. Lawrence; SAMUEL A. SMITH, in Suffolk; JOHN D.
WATKINS, in Sullivan; ELIJAH POWELL, in Tioga; SMITH
ROBERTSON, in Tompkins; LEMON THOMPSON, in Warren;
SAMUEL COLE, in Wayne; JOHN HOBBS, in Westchester;
J. S. DENMAN, in Wyoming; THALES LINDSLEY, in Yates;
JoHN OLNEY, in Greene; and _NELSON WHITMAN, in
Hamilton.
The meeting of the State Convention of Superintendents, in April of this year, at Syracuse, was honored
by the presence of the State Superintendent, Mr. BENTON; the Rev. Dr. POTTER, of Union College; the Hon.
HENRY BARNARD, State Superintendent of Rhode Island; Hon. IRA MAYHEW, State Superintendent of Michigan; GEO. B. EM3ERSON, of Boston; the Rev. SAMUEL




200              COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
J. MAY and the Rev. Mr. CASTLETON, of Syracuse; the
Rev. JOSIAH HOLBROOK and LYMAN COBB, Esq., of New
York; SALEM TowN, of Cayuga; and Mrs. EMMA WITLARD, of the Troy Fernale Seminary  The principal topics
of discussion, during its session, were the introduction
and use of the BIBLE in the Public Schools, and especially in those of the city of New York, and the necessary
measures to oppose the movement, then in progress, for
the abolition of the system  of county supervision.
The Rev. Dr. POTTER  on being requested to address
the Convention, in referring to the present position of
the County Superintendents, regretted that they should
be opposed in the discharge of their many and arduous
duties, and that a portion of our fellow citizens could
be still blind to the fact that a constant and regular
supervision of our schools was necessary.  He advised
conciliation, patience, and reiterated efforts on the part
of the superintendents, and their abstinence  from  all
political or partisan discussions.  He then passed to the
subject of moral and religious instruction, dwelt upon
its importance, and  especially upon  the value of the
BIBLE as its chief exponent  counseling, at the same
time, a scrupulous regard to the rights and prejudices
of different classes of the community. He concluded by
introducing the  following  resolution  embodying  these
views:'Resolved, That this Convention regard the introduction of the BIBLE
into schools as an object earnestly to be desired; but that the time and
manner in which this object is to be accomplished is a question which
ought to be decided by the inhabitants of the districts; and that in all
measures for the promotion of moral and religious culture in our schools,
sacred regard ought to be had for the rights, and tenderness manifested
toward the scruples and prejudices, of all."
This resolution  called forth  an  animated  and  prolonged discussion, in which the Rev. Mr. MAY, of Sy



FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    201
racuse; LYMAN COBB, and Dr. D. MEREDITH REESE,
of New York; Mr. ELY, of Erie; Mr. MANX, of Mlonroe; ALBERT and WILLIA.M  WRIGHT, of Washington;
Mr. HENRY, of Herkimer (President of the Convention);
Mr. SPENCER, of Allegany; Mr. LINDSLEY, Of Yates;
the Rev. Mr. CASTLETON, of Syracuse, and others, participated.  Mr. MAY expressed his full concurrence in
the principles of the resolution.  Mr. COBB dissented
from the reservations implied by leaving this question to
the fluctuating determination of the inhabitants of the
several school districts; alluded to the impressive influence upon the children of the reading of the Bible
at the opening of the public schools in the city of
New York; and insisted upon the importance and indispensable necessity of its full and decided recognition
as a sacred book, pre-eminently superior to all others,
and from  which all our moral and religious principles
are to be deduced.  He desired that the resolution
should be so modified as to recommend the urgent
influence  of the County superintendents for its daily
reading in every school of the State.
Dr. POTTER remarked that he had certainly intended
to embody these views in his resolutions. He thought,
nevertheless, that the trustees and inhabitants of the
several districts, and not any authoritative body, should
decide this matter.  He would, however, cheerfully accept the proposed amendment; and the resolution was
modified accordingly.
Mr. MA N, of Monroe, and Mr. LINDSLEY, of Yates,
were of opinion that the passage of this resolution, as
modified, would be in clear contravention of the principle asserted in its terms; and that, while recognizing
the exclusive right of the districts to determine for
themselves what measure and method of moral and




202             COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
religious instruction  they would have, the County superintendents were directed to insist upon a particular
mode.
The  Rev. Mr. CASTLETON, of Syracuse, said  the
crisis had come —the ground had been taken, and would
be maintained.  The Bible must not be expelled; or
if it were, its expulsion would expel Christians and
believers from  your enterprise.  It was not the mere
neglect of the Bible against which he desired to raise
his voice, but against its entire expulsion.  To teach
science without morality was, in fact, to teach  that
morality was not an essential portion of education; to
teach  morality  without religion  was to  affirm  that
the latter was wholly unconnected  with the former;
and to teach religion without the Bible was to deny
the Bible by the allegation that it was not essential to religion.  How  could teachers, in enforcing the
moral principles of justice, mercy, truth, and benevolence, refer to the sanctions of the Bible in confirmation  of the dictates of reason  and conscience, when
that book was expelled from  the schools as unfit and
improper to be read?
Dr. 1). AEREDITH REESE, of New York, gave a history of the controversy which had for some years existed, and was still to a considerable extent pending,
in the city of New York, on this subject. The statute
of 1842, as amended by that of 1844, under which the
present system  of Ward Schools, as distinguished from
those of the Public School Society, grew  up, contained
a distinct provision, that no school organized under its
authority should be entitled to receive any portion of
the school money, in which "the religious doctrines
or tenets of any particular Christian or other religious
sect shall be taught, inlcucated, or practiced, or in which




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    203
any book or books containing compositions favorable
or prejudicial" to such particular doctrines, or which
should teach such doctrines-expressly prohibiting, however, the Board of Education from  excluding from  any
of the schools "the HOLY SCRIPTURE, without note or
comment, or any  selections therefrom," or from  determining qwhat version, if any, of such Scriptures, without note or comment, should be used in any schoolreserving  the  rights  of  conscience  secured  by  the
Constitution of the State and United States.  During
a period of more than thirty years, under the administration of the Public School Society, no school in the
city of New  York had been opened without the reading of the Holy Scriptures.  Roman Catholic as well
as Protestant teachers read them continually, and without objection.  On his last official visitation to the
schools as County superintendent, he found thirty-three
of the schools established and organized by this act,
from which the Bible had been excluded as a sectarian book.
"I earnestly protested," continued Dr. REESE, "against
this exclusion of the Word of God.  I gave a public
challenge to all persons to come forward, if they could,
and show  that any child or parent, Catholic or Protestant, had  ever objected to the use of the Bible.
The exclusion was, to  the last degree, wanton  and
uncalled for.  It was not the work of the people-not
even the Catholic portion of the people-but a miserable  contrivance  of corrupt politicians."  He then
represented these facts to the officers of the wards,
and having ascertained  that they would do nothing,
notified the Board of Education that such schools had
forfeited their share of the public money, and obtained
an explicit and strong decision from Col. YouNG, then
Superintendent of Common  Schools, that the  Bible




204                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
could  not  legally  be  regarded  as  a  sectarian  book.
The  schools  in  question, however, succeeded, for  the
time being, in obtaining possession of the public money.
After  presenting  the  whole  subject  to  the  consideration  of a public meeting, at which  over five  thousand
people were present, and which  strongly  sanctioned the
stand  he  had  taken, Dr. REESE   brought  the  matter
before  the  Common   Council, who  by  a nearly  unanimous vote  adopted  an  ordinance  prohibiting  the  City
Comptroller from  paying  over any  portion  of the public  money  to  those  schools  from  which  the  Bible  had
thus been  illegally  excluded, and  none had accordingly
since  been  paid  to  any  in  which  the  Bible  had  not
been  read.  The use of either the Protestant or Douay
version, as  the  majority  of  parents  might  prefer, if
"without note  or commlent,"  had  been  authorized  and
sanctioned.   He continued:
" Let it ever be proclaimed, that the BIBLE is a sectarian book-that it
is unfit to be read in our schools, and listened to by our children-and what
kind of a moral education can you confer upon the rising generation? Such
an announcement alone would be fatal to all good morals and all proper
education.  These resolutions open the door for the exclusion  of the
Bible wherever prejudice is alleged to exist against it. Every State superintendent, from the period of the first organization of the system, has borne
unequivocal testimony in favor of its use in our Common Schools, and the
explicit language of the statute authorizing the establishment of Ward
Schools in the city of New York prohibits its exclusion, while in those of
the Public School Society it has uniformly been in daily use since their first
organization.
"It has been observed in this debate that truth must prevail-that the
Bible can be hi no danger-and that, therefore, no efforts are needed in its defense. But is this the course you pursue in regard to philosophical and scientific truth? If so, then your schools are themselves superfluous. Science
and philosophy can never be put down, but morals and virtue may; and
though the Bible is in no danger, our liberties are in great danger. And if
we tamely surrender the Bible at the clamorous bidding of those who would
drive it from our schools, we shall soon see it driven from our churches also
At the present time there are but six schools in the city of New York where
the Bible is excluded. But aside from all local considerations, I should dep



FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.             205
recate the passage of the resolution. The evil to result from it would, I
fear, extend to every city and town in the State. Its passage would be disastro us in the extreme."
Dr. POTTER, in reply, observed, that he advocated the
introduction of the Bible into all the schools, as soon as
practicable, by persuasion, but not by compulsion; that the
Superintendents and others should reconmmend its introduction, but not exact it; that the Superintendents, as
officers, were merely advisory ones; that no resolutions
of theirs would be compulsory, but that all measures
of this nature must, after all, be referred to the people,
as the proper tribunal to decide upon them. The resolution, in  its terms and spirit, referred to the introduction of the Bible into schools where now it is not
read; and it was diffcult to  see how  a measure  designed to aid that object could  tend to the exclusion
of the Bible any where. In the city of New York its
use was provided for by a law  of the State.  No such
law  existed in respect to the country; and, in  its absence, it was  almost too  obvious for argument that
the people-the  inhabitants  of the  several districtswere the proper arbiters in the premises.  The resolution affirmed the great desirableness of introducing the
Scriptures where they were not now used, and declares
the inhabitants to be the proper judges as to the time
and manner of such introduction.  Was not this better
and wiser than  coercive  legislation-more in harmony
with the genius of our institutions and the spirit of the
Common School system?  That system  made the people the governors of the schools in the several districts.
The State Superintendent had only an appellate jurisdiction, the County Superintendents were only advisory
officers. The whole theory of the system  involved the
idea that the people were to administer it-the  State,




206             COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
through  its officers, acting  the part of patron  and
supervisor.  For a country like ours was not this better than the centralized absolutism  of Prussia or Austria, where the people do little for education, and the
government almost every thing?  The gentleman had
stated that in no instance had the people in the city
of New York, either parents, teachers, or children, objected to  the  introduction  of the  Bible  into  their
schools. This showed that it was safe to refer this
question to  the people. When proper prudence was
used, no objection would usually be encountered; and
the objections of a small portion  of the inhabitants
would, by no means, render it the duty of the majority
to resolve upon exclusion. Wise and good men would,
however, always be more anxious to subdue opposition
by kindness and persuasion than to overthrow it by the
mere force of majorities. They would bide their time.
If they were unable to secure the introduction of the
Bible peaceably, they  would  wait-consoled, in  the
mean time by the reflection that through  the singing
and reading books in schools, the example and precepts
of the teacher, as well as through the daily discipline,
they could do much for moral and religious culture,
even though  the Bible were not read in school hours.
It was an end which they  would keep steadily in
view, but there was a still higher end which could still
be attained-even that for which the Bible itself was
given-the imparting of its influences and principles
through  the inculcations of living  expounders of its
truths. Nor should we, in discussing this subject, overlook the aid we derive, in this good and great work,
from  the  clergy,  from  Sunday  Schools  and  Bible
Classes, and from parental instruction.
After some remarks fiom Dr. REESE, in explanation




FOURTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.                    207
of  his  views,  and  the  adoption  of  a  supplementary
clause  disclaiming  any  application  to  the  city  of  New
York, for  the  regulation  of  the  schools in  which, a
special statute existed, the resolution of Dr. POTTER, as
inodified, was unanimously  concurred  in.
The  Hon. N. S. BENTON, State  Superintendent, on
being  introduced  to  the  convention, remarked  that he
had  at all times  since  its  establishment cordially  concurred  in  the  present  efficient  system   of  public instruction; and fully appreciated  the great importance of
the services rendered by the County superintendents, and
the magnitude  and  extent  of  the  duties  and  powers
devolved  upon  them.  He observed:
"I learn that there are memorials from some fourteen counties in favor of
abolishing the existing system of county supervision. I am apt to think that
in some cases this movement has arisen from political antipathies, unfortunately but too strong among the people. Opposition of a sectarian description, I am informed, has existed in one or two cases. These causes are made
to work against the system itself-most unjustly and improperly; as I firmly
believe. Gentlemen who are County superintendents, of whichever political
party, will at once perceive that they are marks for the opposite party in their
own county to aim at. They should, therefore, redouble their prudence and
circumspection. It is for us to sustain the system; and this chiefly by making
it worthy, in the highest degree, of public confidence and favor.
" I desire to say to this convention, though it is, perhaps, not proper that
I should be committed on this subject —yet I do not hesitate to say that it is
my opinion that in the end wce shall find FREE SCHOOLS, in all respects, the
best adcapted to our wants and condition; and I am persuaded that, as a matter
of ECONOMY, they care preferable to any other system. I propose to prepare
myself to show, as I hope and believe, that this system would bear less
heavily upon the property of the State than the present mixed system. And
I cannot but look forward with joy to the state of things when wealth
which is really no distinction will cease to be regarded as such, and the
children of all our citizens be placed upon a footing of happy and honorable
equality."
This was touching, for the first time, in high official
quarters, the  key-note  of  the  great conflict  for  FREE
SCHOOLS, which  was  destined  in  the  ensuing  administration  to  break  out, and  at  a  still  later  period  to




200             COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
become  triumphant by  the  solemn  recognition  and
adoption of the principle of UNIVERSAL EDUCATION IN
PUBLIC  SCHOOLS FREE  TO  ALL.  An able report in
favor of this great measure was also made during the
session  of the convention by DAVID NAY, of Genesee.
Addresses were made during  the meeting  by the
Honorable HENRY  BARNARD, of Rhode Island; Rev.
Dr. ALONZO POTTER; GEORGE  B. EMERSON, Esq., of
Boston; the Rev. SAMUEL J. MAY, of Syracuse; and
Mrs. EMMiAIA WILLARD, of Troy, who was waited upon,
at her rooms, by the members of the convention in a
body, for that purpose.
A  committee  of the  convention, of  which  Mr.
DWIGHT was chairman, also visited the public schools
of Syracuse. Mr. DWIGHT, in his report, stated that he
first visited the schools of that city five years ago, at
which time an itinerant lecturer took a model of the
best school-house in the place, and exhibited it about
the State, to show how bad a school-house could be!
Since that time a magical change had been wrought:
and he now  felt justified in holding up the schoolhouses, their arrangements, the methods of instruction,
their teachers, patrons, and scholars, as models of what
schools shoidd be. Then Syracuse was one of the lowest-now it was one of the highest in the scale of improvement.  He also paid a high compliment to  the
schools of Camillus, Marcellus, and Skaneateles; and
referred in terms of commendation to  the surprising
change manifest, in all these respects, throughout the
State.
Mr. BARNES, of Onondaga, submitted the following
resolution:
" Resolved, That the Hon. SAMUEL YOumG, for his devotion to the
cause of education; for his comprehensive and practical recommendations




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    209
and suggestions; the untiring ardor with which he consecrated the energies of his great intellect to the elevation of our system of Common
Schools-deserves and will receive the thanks, not only of this convention,
but of all the friends of equal and universal education throughout the
world."
Mr. ROCHESTER, of Monroe, rose to second the resolution.  He most fully concurred in its expression of
the high estimate in  which Col. YOUNG was held by
the members of this  Convention.  It had  been  his
fortune, almost from his earliest acquaintance, to differ
with him  on almost all the political questions of the
present day; and, perhaps, it was his duty to confess
that he had imbibed a strong  prejudice against him.
From  the official position, however, recently  occupied
by him, not only had all such prejudices been removed,
but Col. YoUNG had been placed high in his respect
and esteem; and he believed  that he but expressed
the opinion of the superintendents and of the intelligent friends of education  every where, when he said
that he had shown himself a most honest and capable
public officer, and an enlightened and efficient advocate
of popular education.
The Hon. HENRY BARNARD said that, disconnected
as he was from all political relations and parties in this
State, resolved to know or to care for no man's political
faith, so he be true to the great cause of popular education and human progress, he should be happy, with the
permission of the convention, to add his voice to the
unanimous vote  which  this acknowledgment of Col.
YOUNG's services will receive from  all present.  His
manly and energetic administration of your wide-spread
school system; his fearless assertion of the great principles of virtue and morality in his official papers, correspondence, and reports; and the noble manner in which
he came forward and surrendered his preconceived opin14




210            COMMION SCHOOL SYSTEM.
ions and prejudices against the system of county supervision adopted by his predecessor in office, avowed his
determination  to give that system  a fair trial, and,
when he had done so, openly and publicly, and on all
occasions, acknowledged it to be a valuable improvement on the old plan-these things have won for him
the highest respect of all the friends of education in
other States.  It has fallen to the lot of but few men
to be able to do so much for the more complete and
universal education of the people as he has done, by
his early and continued advocacy of the school library
enterprise  and the establishment of Normal Schools
and Teachers' Institutes.  These measures will mark a
new era in the history of popular education in your
State, and will most materially strengthen the hands
and the hearts of those who are laboring in this field
in other parts of the country.  Every teacher, every
parent, every school officer, ought to be grateful to
the late Superintendent for his agency in establishing
these institutions; and sure I am  that the thousands
and hundreds of thousands of children, whose capacities for happiness and usefulness will be increased by
the better instruction they will thus have been made
to receive, will "rise up and call him blessed!"
The resolution was unanimously adopted, and the
convention adjourned.
Shortly after the  retirement of Col. YouNG, he
was appointed by the Regents of the University to
supply the vacancy in the Executive Committee of
the  State Normal School, created by the transfer of
the  Rev. Dr. ALoINzo  POTTER  to Pennsylvania, as
Bishop of the  Episcopal Church.  Perhaps no man
in the State had rendered more important and efficient
services to the cause of Common School education than




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    211
Dr. POTTER.  In all the great movements which so
eminently characterized the administrations of Gen.
DLx, Mr. SPENCER, and Col. YOUNG, for the elevation
and advancement of the system of public instruction;
in the introduction  of teachers' departments in the
several academies; in all the measures which led to
the reconstruction  of the system, and the establishment of the plan of county supervision; and in the
organization of the State Normal School-he was an
active and energetic participator; and by his eloquent
addresses, his indefatigable labors, and his able and
zealous co-operation, strengthened the arms and encouraged and stimulated the exertions of the friends
of education throughout the  State.  His  mind was
eminently practical and conservative in its tendencies,
preferring to retain all established institutions so long
as they continued to accomplish the purposes for which
they were designed, rather than prematurely to hazard
the untried chances of innovation; gradually to engraft
the new upon the old, as the exigencies of the time
appeared to require; and in all things to make due
allowances for the opinions, the habits, and even the
prejudices of those who were unprepared to receive
and welcome the advancing doctrines, and cordially to
carry out the new measures, of a progressive age. This
feature of his character enabled him, at all times, to
exert a much more powerful influence on public opinion
than could otherwise have been  attained by talents
however brilliant, or abilities however superior.  It
rendered him  also an invaluable counselor in all public bodies where the collision of opposing interests and
views, and the excitement of debate, endangered that
calm  consideration and judicious settlement of principles which the importance of the subject required.




212            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
In July of this year, the first STATE CONVENTION OF
TEACHERS assembled at Syracuse, under the presidency
of JOHN W. BULKLEY, then of Albany, and subsequently, for many years, and still, the City Superintendent of Brooklyn.  Addresses were delivered by C.
WT. ANTHONY, of Albany; Prof. CHESTER DEWEY, of
Rochester; Prof. SIMEON  NORTH, afterward the distinguished President of Hamilton College; and FREDERICK EMERSON, of Boston.  Reports were presented
on various subjects of educational interest; and resolutions adopted endorsing the system of county supervision, the reading of the BIBLE as a portion of the
exercises in the several Common Schools of the State,
and the establishment of a teachers' journal under the
editorial supervision  of EDWARD  COOPER, of Westchester, to be published at Syracuse, by Mr. L. W. HALL.
The death, on the 15th of December, of FRANCIS
DWIGHT, Esq., editor of the District School Journal,
the able and efficient County Superintendent of Albany,
and a member and Secretary of the Executive Committee of the State Normal School, threw a deep shade
of gloom  over the hearts of the friends of Common
School education generally throughout the State.  To
talents of a high order, and the most varied scientific and literary accomplishments, Mr. DWIGHT united
an enthusiastic attachment to the interests of public
instruction, and an indefatigable devotion to its advancement in all its departments, which rendered him
a valuable co-operator in every enterprise for its promotion. Perhaps no man in the State exerted a wider
and more varied influence than himself upon the great
educational movements of the period, through his connection with the official organ for communication with
the several school districts, and his position as County




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    213
superintendent. The Journal, on his death, passed into
the hands of his associate and friend, the author of
this history; and his place as County superintendent
was ably filled by the appointment of Gen. RUFus
KING, afterwards Adjutant-General of the State.
From the annual report of Superintendent BENTON,
communicated to the Legislature on the 20th of January, 1846, it appeared that in the eleven thousand districts *of the State, 736,000 children had been taught
during the year reported (1844), only 17,000 of whom
had, however, been under instruction for a period exceeding six months, and 147,000 only for a period of
four months and less than six.  The increase in the
whole number instructed, over those of the preceding
year, was nearly 27,000.  In the city of New York,
59,000 children had been under instruction in the various public schools. In the nine thousand districts personally visited by the several County superintendents
during the preceding year, 7,566 school-houses were of
framed wood, 567 of brick, 519 of stones, and 552 of logs:
of which 3,783 were in good, 2,700 in ordinary, and 2,760
in bad, repair; 8,613 had one apartment only; 6,462
were found wholly destitute of play-grounds; and upward of five thousand were wholly destitute of privy accommodations, while two thousand of the remainder were
furnished only with single privies. Every district in the
counties of Kings, Monroe, and New York, was suitably
provided for in these respects;  while in Allegany,
Broome, Chautauque, Chemung, Columbia,  Franklin,
Greene, Lewis, Putnam, Seneca, St. Lawrence, Suffolk,
Tioga, and Warren, over seventy-five per cent. of the
whole number of districts, in Steuben over eighty, and
in Sullivan nearly ninety, were entirely destitute of these
necessary  appendages.  The average wages of male




214                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
teachers  was  about $14, and  of  females, $7.50.   The
amount of public  money  received  and  applied  to  the
payment of teachers' wages  was  $629,856.94, and  the
amount contributed by parents on rate-bills, $458,127.78,
to  which  if the  amount  of local funds belonging  to
towns-$20,000-be   added, the  total  expenditure  for
teachers' wages during the year was $1,097,984.72. The
usual appropriation for libraries, $95,000, was expended
in  the addition  of 106,854 volumes, making  the,whole
number 1,115,250.  The Superintendent observes:
"The marked difference between the whole number of children, over
five and under sixteen years of age, reported by the trustees, and the
reported number under instruction for a period less than four months,
shows that a very considerable portion of the children in the State do
not attend school for a time required to entitle a district to its share
of public money.   *   *       *   What proportion of the whole number of children in the State are excluded from all participation in the benefits
of our Common Schools, on account of the poverty of their parents, or of the
refusal or neglect of the trustees to make the exemptions on this account
required by law, cannot now be accurately ascertained, and probably never
will be, however important these facts may be. The Superintendent believes
that the number in the whole State, embracing our large cities, populous
villages, and manufacturing towns, whose destitution entitles them to be
placed on the list of free scholars, is much larger than has been generally
supposed by accurate observers; and the lowest probable estimate we can form of
that number is overforty-six thouscand."  "Among other obstacles to be encountered is the reluctance of many parents to participate in the benefits afforded
by these exemptions, owing to the manner in which this bounty, as they call
it, is bestowed. They will not send their children to the schools to be
reproached for their poverty, and assailed with taunts that they are educated at
the expense of their more fortunate neighbors."
In conclusion, the Superintendent remarks:' The successful progress and practical results that have hitherto marked
the steady advance of our Common School system present to the mind of
the philanthropic statesman, the patriotic citizen, and the moralist, a theme
for profound reflection on the prospects of the future, and for grateful recollections of the past thirty years. During this time, amidst all the asperities
that have marked the conflicts of mind with mind on other topics, civil and
social, the revolutions of political parties, and a material change in the
fundamental law of the State, this great and invaluable institution has stood
like an ocean rock, unharmed and urnmoved!"




FOURTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.                    215
On the 12th of May, the State Convention of County
Superintendents  re-assembled   at  Albany,   under  the
presidency of the General Deputy Superintendent, S. S.
RANDALL.   Judge  BENTON,  the  State  Superintendent;
the  Hon. HORACE  MANN, of Massachusetts; the  Hon.
HORACE  EATON,  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools,
and  afterward  Governor  of Vermont;  Dr. THEODORE
P.  KING, late   of  Brooklyn,  State  Superintendent  of
New  Jersey;  Prof. PIERCE, of  the  Lexington  Normal
School in  Massachusetts; Prof. D. P. PAGE, Principal
of the  New  York  State  Normal  School; Prof. J. B.
THOMSON, of New York; EDWARD COOPER, of Westchester, editor of the  "Teachers' Advocate:" and other
distinguished gentlemen, were in attendance.
In  October, 1844, WILLIAM  BARNES, DAVID  PARSONS,
and  N. P.  STANTON,  Jr.,  a  committee  appointed  by
the  ONONDAGA  COUNTY TEACHERS' INSTITUTE, presented
the  following  report on  the  subject of  FREE  SCHOOLS
-being  the earliest official action  we  have  been  able
to  find  on  this important topic:
" The committee on Free Schools respectfully report: That they are deeply impressed with the incalculable importance of this subject to the best interests of the American people. We believe that the time has arrived when
the discussion and agitation of this question is called for, and when it would
be productive of good results. The committee are in favor of the Free School
system for the following reasons:
"1. lWe maintain that every human'being has a right to intellectual and moral
education; and that it is the duty of government to provide the means of such education to every child under its jurisdiction. Man is not born with the matured
mind which education produces.  Unlike the brute creation, who receive
by nature the knowledge necessary for their future support and happiness,
men totally uneducated would die, or live in misery.  The intelligence of
brutes remain stationary for ages; man has the capacity of continual progression, and seems designed for a state of education and progressive improvement. If man, in a state of total helplessness, and without the natural education of the brute creation, has no right to demand the intellectual and moral
culture so essential to his existence and happiness, from his fellow men, then
his right to'life and liberty' is of no consequence. The right to the air we




216                  COMMON  SCHOOL  SYSTEM.
breathe is not more necessary to physical existence than culture to mental
health. Who would accept the gift of life, unaccompanied with the cultivation of the intellect and moral faculties?
" The community, or government, its representative, is bound to provide
the intellectual and moral culture without which the people will be miserable. The presence of uneducated persons in the body politic impairs the
happiness of its other members-we feel sorrow for their degradation, and are
injured by their actions and crimes. Government conceives it to be its duty
to construct'internal improvements'-how  much stronger is the obligation
to make improvements on the uncultivated soil of mind? If, for the common
benefit, our government is bound to build jails, prisons, lunatic asylums, and
canals, the duty to educate the people is as much greater as the results of it
would be more beneficial than the construction of those works.
" 2. As a means for the prevention of crime, we approve the Free School
system. The cause of crime is a defective moral education. The means
which government uses to reform the offender, and prevent the repetition of
the offense, have but little influence to effect the objects; they do not reach
the cause of crime-a defective moral training. Accordingly, we find that
convicts often commit crimes as soon as they are at liberty, and even while
witnessing the execution of criminals. *  *  It will be found universally
true that the minimun of crime exists, where the maximum of moral education is found. The prevention of the repetition of crimes by the offender
or others-the great object of human punishment-has never been, and never
can be, attained by the present system.  The diseased moral nature nmust be
cured, or the cause of crime will ever remain. In view of these facts, does not
a system of prevention, which strikes at the foundation of crime, become the
imperative duty of government?
" 3. The Free School system is in accordance with the nature of our democratic institutions.  Is it not proper that persons created with  equal
rights, and destined to govern our nation-with whose right action our happiness is intimately connected-should receive the education so necessary to
a correct discharge of their duties? Why should the child of accident, alone,
receive that intellectual and moral culture which angelizes man? Let the
children of our nation have equal privileges for ennobling themselves from
brute existence.
"Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid
Some heart once fragrant with celestial fire;
Hands that the rod of empire might have swayed,
Or waked to ecstacy the living lyre! "
Under the Free School system, the Washingtons, the Franklins, the Henrys,
the Jeffersons, who now live and die unknown, would live to benefit, to purify,
and exalt the race. From the immutable laws of mind, the largest part of the
great men of our country must come from the poorer classes. The children
of the rich do not generally form  those habits of energy or perseverancesteady, unwearied, continuous labor-without which no man can attain emi



FOURTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL CAMIPAIGN.                   217
nence. The Free School system would benefit the poorer classes, and develop
talent which is now chilled by the Greenland winds of poverty; it would
benefit the children of the rich, by the lesson, invaluable to them, that they are
just such beings as the children of the pauper, and that if they would attain
greatness they must work and toil with untiring energy and perseverance.
FREE SCHOOLS ARE TRULY THE AMERICAN SYSTEMI OF EDUCATION. They
are already in successful operation in several of the cities of our State and
Union. The committee indulge the hope that the State of New York will
soon extend her liberality, and either by a tax or generalfund assume the entire
support of our Common School system. They report the following resolution:' Resolved, That we approve of the Free School system, and recommend
its adoption in this State."
On  the   24th   of  April,  1845,  DAvID   NiAY,  Esq.,
County  Superintendent of Genesee, during  the  session
of  the  State  Convention  of  Superintendents, at Herkimer, presented a report from  the Committee on  Free
Schools, in which he says:
" Every consideration of duty urges the recommendation and adoption
of the most speedy and efficient measures for the support of public instruction.  It has been ascertained from statistical sources that more than seveneighths of this entire community receive their education from  Common
Schools; hence it follows that as are our schools, so is the education of the
people.  If the system for their support is found defective, it becomes our
duty to suggest and provide a remedy.  It is not to be supposed that the
system is yet perfect, or that the best measures have yet been adopted to perfect and secure an education for all the sons and daughters of our State.
Although we have a fund, and an annual appropriation from the fund of
$275,000, and an amount equal to that appropriation annually raised by
tax, for the support of our Common Schools, yet it is matter of fact that
even this amount is insufficient fully and satisfactorily to answer the object
of the appropriation. There are children in the State, and, we have reason
to believe, in almost every county in the State, who do not attend any
school, for the very obvious reason that their parents have not the means to
pay their rate-bill; and the self-respect and pride of those parents forbid
that they should be exonerated from such payment by the trustees.  Nor is
this all. Without funds from some public source, sufficient to defray the entire expense of our schools-and that, too, in such a manner as to make them
acceptable to the rich. and available to the poor-we give rise to private
and select schools; thus creating a distinction in society that ought not to
exist in a community of freemen, who profess to believe in, and attempt to
sustain the principles of, republican liberty. The question then arises, how
shall this evil be averted? Your committee are of opinion that we should
follow the example of many of our sister States, and of the cities of New




218                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
York, Buffalo, Rochester, and Poughkeepsie in our own State, by adopting
at once a system of school education that shall be free, thus affording facilities
for instruction to all, whether rich or poor.  Will it be said that the Free
School system imposes too heavy a tax on the wealthy and those who have
no children to educate? As well might the same objection be urged against
raising a tax for defraying the expenses of our courts of justice in the trial
of criminal causes, for the support of the poor, and for levying taxes in
time of war for the national defense.  In the city of New York some of the
most wealthy citizens petitioned the Legislature for the passage of a law to
tax their property for the support of the public schools, thereby making
them free for all, both rich and poor. In this they acted upon the principle
that it was unsafe to live in a community where any portion of the rising
generation are suffered to enter upon the stage of active life without a mental and moral education. Ask the cities and superintendents of those cities
where the Free School system has been adopted, and where the experiment
has been successfully and triumphantly tested, whether they are willing to
abandon it?  No; they cling to it with an unyielding tenacity, as the only
means of affording an education to all their children, and of securing adequate protection to persons and property.
" Under all the circumstances, your committee have come to the conclusion
that it is not only a duty, but a waise policy, to adopt the Free School systemn,
throughout the length and breadth of the entire State, and that it should become a law. Therefore,
" Resolved, As the sense of this convention, that we are decidedly in
favor of a Free School system; believing it better calculated to promote the
interest and secure the permanency of our civil and religious institutions
than any other system that can be devised."
This  resolution,  after  considerable  discussion,  was
withdrawn, and the  following  substituted  in its place:
" Resolved, That the  establishment of Free Schools, throughout this
State, be respectfully commended to the consideration of all its citizens."
During the session of the convention of 1846, public
addresses were delivered on the general subject of Popular Education, by Messrs. MANN, BENTON, and EATON;
the Normal School was visited, and after a lecture from
the Principal, Mr. PAGE, to the assembled  students, appropriate  remarks  were  made  by  Professor  DAVIES,
JACOB ABBOTT, Mr. MANN, and Mr. HENRY, of Herkimer.




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.                    219
On  the coming  up  of the  question of the practicability  and  expediency  of  engrafting  the  FREE  SCHOOL
SYSTEM  upon  our existing  organization, Mr. MANN, on
the call of the  convention, delivered an  animated  and
eloquent speech  in  its  favor, explaining  the  grounds
upon  which  it  rested, illustrating  its  excellences, examining and  refuting  the arguments brought  to  bear
against it, and commending its adoption on every principle  of public policy  and  sound  statesmanship.   No
apology  can  be  necessary  for the presentation  of the
most essential portion of this masterly defense in the
eloquent language itself of the distinguished speaker:
"Strange as it may seem," observed Mr. MANN, "the subject of FREE
SCHOOLS, and of the right of a State to maintain them, is never agitated in
Massachusetts. I recollect no public document in which this question is
discussed, nor have I ever been present at a meeting where it was debated.
It is a thing universally taken for granted, and, probably, there is not a gentleman present who has not thought more upon the subject than I have. If
there be any such thing as'innate ideas,' we, in Massachusetts, are born
with an innate idea of Free Schools; and a citizen with us would be as much
surprised at having a rate-bill presented to him for the attendance of his
children at the district school as he would, if called upon to pay for enjoying
the free light of the sun or the common air of heaven. a' To argue this question, therefore, would seem almost like arguing a question respecting the
existence of an INSTINCT: you may prove with ever so much logical force
that it does not exist; but when you have finished your demonstration, there
it is!
"The resolution before us contemplates the prospective establishment of
a system of Free Schools for the State of New York; and I acknowledge that
when any new measure is propounded, the burden of proof rests upon those
who ask for a change.
"I will take up but a single point pertaining to this great subject;
namely, the OBLIGATION OF A STATE, ON THE GREAT PRINCIPLES OF NATURAL
LAW AND NATURAL EQUITY, TO MAINTAIN FREE SCHOOLS FOR THE UNIVERSAL
EDUCATION OF ITS PEOPLE; and I thank the convention for turning my attention to this point, which was never before so distinctly presented to my
mind.
" Shall the schools of a State be free? Shall they be open to all? Shall
they invite and welcome all? Shall they provide that amount and quality
of instruction for all which is indispensable to the welfare of the individualto the brother, sister, father, mother —to the voter, in municipal affairs-to the




220                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
juror, witness, and citizen-to every one who by law inherits a portion of the
sovereignty of this great Republic? I propose to discuss the question
whether, according to the great, immutable principles of natural law and
equity, this shall be done; or whether, on the other hand, each child shall
be dependent for the education he may obtain upon chance or charity, or
parental providence; and whether, if chance does not favor, nor charity smile,
nor parents provide, the child shall be left without education until he provides for himself. Sir, it appears to me, that a child born in winter may as
well be left without warmth or shelter until he provides it for himself.' Were it not that the question of Free Schools involves the question of
taxation, I suppose that but few would feel any objections against them; and
still fewer, in the face of this community, and in the increasing light and
liberality of the nineteenth century, would avow their objections. He must
be a pretty bold man who, at this day, in New England or New York,
would resist the utmost diffusion of educational means. But Free Schools
imply taxation: and it is a problem which no statesman has ever yet been
able to solve, how to make taxes agreeable to all who pay them. Taxation
has always been one of the characteristics of arbitrary power, and hence
Republicans are jealous of it. Taxation was one of the main causes of Colonial resistance to the authority of Great Britain; and hence an aversion to it
seems to run in our blood.. I have always observed amongst our people an
exaggeration of ideas on this subject-a feeling in each individual, whatever
the amount of the tax may be, he will have to pay the whole of it. It is the
hydrostatic paradox repeated, where the whole pressure bears upon each
part. And hence it is that those who will admit that a thorough, comprehensive, and Christian education-an education of all our faculties and susceptibilities of body and mind-is the equivalent of health and long life, of
individual, social, and national happiness, prosperity, and renown; nay, that
education, good or bad, is the synonym of heaven and hell-I say, those who
admit all this still maintain that each family must pay for its own; that
come prosperity or come adversity to the individual or to the community;
come honor or come infamy; come blessedness or come perdition-every man
must pay for himself. The knot of this unwedgable problem lies in the word
pay.'Why should I, who have no children,' says one,'pay to educate
yours?'' Why should I,' says another,'who have reared a family of children, and educated them, now pay a second time in order to educate yours,
thus bearing a second burden?' Now I am no apologist for unnecessary
taxation. But it does not follow because despots make grievous exactions of
their subjects, that citizens or voters will overtax themselves. The latter have
the power of restriction in their own hands, and can pronounce a peremptory
veto whenever they please.
" Again, taxation for judicious and worthy objects is not to be considered
a burden, but only as the common condition of existence.  We cannot enjoy life, nor even subsist, without expenditure. Our daily food, our shelter,
our raiment, are taxes-each man being his own assessor. In a wisely administered government, taxes are the fares which we pay on railroad cars



FOURTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.                     221
the price for being safely carried and well provided for through the journey
of life.
" In the next place, it seems to me obvious that all objections to taxation
for the support of Free Schools derive their plausibility from the fact that
they are made by an individual, in his individual character-as an isolated, solitary being having no relations with the community around him-having no
ancestors to whom he himself is indebted-and as one, also, who is to leave
no posterity having any claim upon him. In the midst of a populous community, to which he is bound by innumerable ties-having had his own fortune and condition almost predetermined and foreordained by his predecessors, and being about to exert upon others as commanding an influence as
has been exerted upon himself-the objector argues with us just as he would
argue if there were only himself and his family on the western continent, and
one other man and one other family on the eastern continent, and they and
their families were the first and the last of the whole race. The arguments
generally used by men against taxation for Free Schools are applicable only
to such a case as this. Well, sir, if there were but one family in this hemisphere, and one other family in the other, and if the head of one of these families should call upon the other to help educate his children, I admit, except
so far as good neighborhood might be concerned, there would be some soundness in such an objection; and I can conceive that the force of the appeal
would be even more diminished, if a single family on a neighboring planet
should make such an appeal to a single family on this planet. In self defense,
or in selfishness, one might say to the other,' What are your fortunes to me?
You can neither molest nor assist me. Please to keep your own side of the
oceanic or the planetary spaces that divide us.'
"But is this the relation that we sustain to each other?  Has not every
member of the community thousands around him, on whom he acts, and who
are continually re-acting upon him? Have we not all derived advantages
from our ancestors, and are we not bound, as by an oath, to transmit these advantages, even in an improved condition, to our posterity? In this age of
the world, in the present condition of society, no man can sink into his
individuality, and sever the relations which bind him to others. The mind
and heart must be enlarged until they become co-extensive with our enlarged
relations. The individual no longer exists as an individual merely, but as a
citizen among citizens-as a descendant of those who have gone before-as
the ancestor of those who are to follow; and hence as the recipient of great
blessings from the one, and the medium and transmitter of those blessings to
the other. From these new relations new duties are evolved. Society must
be preserved; and in order to preserve it, we must look not only to what one
family needs, but to what the whole community needs; not merely to what one
generation needs, but to the wants of a succession of generations. To draw
conclusions without considering these facts is to leave out the most important part of our premises.
" Now, what is the fundamental, the permanent, the indispensable need and
necessity of every people? I say it is EDUCATION. Though deficient in every
thing else-though weak, impoverished, anarchical, education will give




222                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
strength, competency, and order; though abounding in every thing that heart
could desire, yet take away education, and all things would rush to ruin as
quickly as the solar system would return to chaos if gravitation and cohesion were destroyed. We need laws regulating all the rights of property, of
persons, and of character.  We need freedom of the press, freedom of speech,
and freedom of conscience. For these purposes we must have wise legislators; but we never shall have wise legislators with a foolish constituency.
" If education, then, be the most important interest of society, it must be
placed upon the most permanent and immovable basis that society can supply. It should not be founded upon the shifting sands of popular caprice or
passion, or upon individual benevolence: but if there be a rock any where, it
should be founded upon that rock. What is the most permanent basis-that
which survives all changes-which retains its identity amid all vicissitudes?
It is PROPERTY. I mean the great, common, universal elements, which constitute the basis of all property-the riches of the soil, the treasures of the sea,
the light and warmth of the sun, the fertilizing clouds, and streams, and dews,
the winds, the electric and vegetative agencies of nature. Individuals come
and go; but these great bounties of heaven abide. Individual estates expand into opulence or shrink into poverty; but the munificence of heaven is
as endless as time!
"We hear much said, not merely in courts of law, but in the marts of
business, and in the common speech of men, of the rights of property. Would
it not be refreshing to hear something of the rights of men? Have not men
rights as well as property? Were men made for the property, or the property
for men? It is of some consequence to know which is principal and which is
adjunct or accessory. As I read the sacred pages, men-not any one man,
not any one generation, but the race-were to have'' dominion " over all other
created things. Now I wish to examine, for a moment, this question-how
much, what quality and description of ownership any one man, or any one
generation, can have in the natural, substantive, enduring elements of wealth
-in the soil-in metals and minerals-in precious stones, and in more precious coal, and iron, and granite-in the sun, and the winds, and the waters.
Has any one man, or any one generation, I ask, such an absolute ownership in
these ingredients of all wealth, that his rights are invaded when a portion of
them is taken for the benefit of contemporaries and of posterity? I reply,
certainly not. The earth and the fullness thereof were created for the race
collectively. These were not created for Adam alone, nor for Noah alone, nor
for the first discoverers or colonists who may have found or have peopled any
part of the earth's ample domain. No! they were created for all; but to be
possessed and enjoyed in succession. Each generation, subject to certain
modifications for the encouragement of industry and frugality, has only a
life lease in them. There are reasonable regulations in regard to the outgoing and incoming tenants-regulations which allow the incoming tenants
to anticipate a little their full right to possession, and which also allow the
outgoing generations a brief control of their property after they are called to
leave it. Let me illustrate this great principle of natural law by a reference




FOURTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL  CAMPAIGN.                     223
to some of the unstable elements, in regard to which the property of each
individual is strongly qualified. Take the streams of water or the winds, for
example. A stream, as it descends from its sources to its mouth, is successively the property of all through whose lands it passes. My neighbor, who
lives above me, owned it yesterday, while it was passing through his lands;
I own it to-day, while it is descending through mine; and the contiguous
proprietor below will own it to-morrow, while it is flowing through his, as
it passes onward to the next. But the rights of each successive owner are
not absolute and unqualified. They are limited by the rights of those who
are entitled to subsequent possession. While a stream of water is passing
through my demesne I cannot corrupt it, so that it shall be valueless and
offensive to the adjoining proprietor below. I cannot detain it in its downward course, or divert it into some other direction, so that it shall leave its
channel dry. I may use it for various purposes-for agriculture or manufactures, or for other objects-but in all my uses of it, I must have regard for
the rights of my neighbors lower down.  So no two proprietors, nor any
half dozen proprietors, by conspiring together, can deprive an owner who
lives below them all, of the ultimate rights which he has to the use of the
stream in its descending course. So we see here that a man has rightsrights of which he cannot be divested, without his own consent, in a stream
of water before it reaches the limits of his estate, at which latter point he
may, somewhat emphatically, call it his own; and in this sense a man who
lives at the outlet of a river, on the margin of the ocean, has certain unqualified rights in the fountains that well up from the earth at the distance of
thousands of miles. So it is with the ever-moving winds. No man has a permanent interest in the breezes that blow by him, and cool and refresh him as
they blow. From whatever quarter of the compass they may come, I have a
right to use them as they are sweeping by; yet I must use them in reference
to those other participants and co-owners whom they are moving forward to
bless. It is not lawful for me to corrupt them-to load them with noxious
gases or vapors, by which they will prove valueless or detrimental to him,
whoever he may be, toward whom they are moving. The light of the sun,
too, is subject to the same benign and equitable laws. As this ethereal element passes by me, I have a right to bask in its beams, or to employ its
quickening powers. But I have no right, even on my own land, to build up
a wall, mountain high, that shall eclipse my neighbor's eyes.
" Now, all these great principles of natural law, are incorporated into,
and constitute a part of, the civil law of every civilized people; and they
are obvious and simple illustrations of the great proprietary laws by which
individuals and generations hold their rights in the solid substance of the
globe, and in the elements that move over its surface.  *  *  *  *  I say,
then, that no man, however he may have acquired his property, has any
natural right, any more than he has a moral one, to hold it, or to dispose of
it, irrespective of the needs and claims of those who, in the august procession of the generations, are to succeed him on this stage of existence. Holding his rights subject to their rights, he is bound to make provision for their
highest wants.




224                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
" Generation after generation comes from the creative power of God.
Each one stops for a brief period upon the earth, resting only as for a night,
like migratory birds upon their passage, and then leaves it forever to others,
whose existence is as transitory as his own; and the flocks of water-fowl,
which annually sweep across our latitudes in their passage to another clime,
have as good a right to make a perpetual appropriation to their own use of
the lands over which they fly as any one generation has to arrogate perpetual dominion and sovereignty, for their own purposes, of that portion of the
earth which it is their fortune to occupy during their brief temporal existence.      *      *      *       *             *  *           *
"But the present wealth of the world has an additional element in it to
that flowing from the universal beneficence of the Creator.  Much of all
that is capable of being earned by man has been earned by our predecessors, and has come down to us, from them, in a consolidated and enduring
form. We have not built all the houses in which we live, nor all the roads
on which we travel, nor all the ships which we navigate. But even if we
had, whence came all the arts and sciences, the discoveries and inventions,
without which, and without a common right to which, the valuation of the
property of a whole nation would scarcely equal the inventory of a single
man? Whence came a knowledge of agriculture, without which we should
have nothing to reap; or of astronomy, without which we could not traverse
the oceans; or of chemistry and mechanical philosophy, without which the
arts and trades cannot flourish? Most of these were prepared by those who
have gone before us-some of them  have come down from  a remote antiquity. Surely all these boons and blessings belong as much to our posterity as to ourselves.  They have not descended to us to be arrested and
consumed here, or to be sequestrated from the ages to come.
" But now we come to another stage in our argument.  In regard to the
wealth formed from the great substantive ingredients which are the property of all mankind, and which belong equally to successive generationsat w7hat time is it to be transferred from a preceding to a succeeding generation? Is each existing generation, and each individual of an existing generation, to hold fast to his possessions until death relaxes his grasp, or is
something of the transfer to be yielded beforehand? If the incoming generation have no rights until the outgoing have retired, then is every individual that enters the world doomed to perish on the day he is born.  His
wants cannot be delayed until he himself can supply them.  The demands
of his nature must be answered before he can provide for them. The infant
must be fed before he can earn his bread; he must be clothed before he can
prepare garments; and it is just as clear that he must be instructed before
he can engage a teacher.  Here, then, the claims of the succeeding generation, not only upon the affection and care, but upon the property of the preceding one, attach. God having given to the second generation as full and
complete a right to the incomes and profits of the world-to the soil-to
the sun's light and warmth-to the rain-to the chemical and vegetative laws
by which the mysterious processes of nature are carried on-as he has given




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    225
to the first; and to the third as full and complete a right as to the second,
and so on, while the world stands-it necessarily follows that they must
come into a partial and qualified possession of these rights, by the paramount
laws of nature, as soon as they are born. No human enactments can abolish
or countervail this paramount and supreme law.
"Coincident, too, with this great law is the wonderful provision that
the Creator has made for the care of offspring in the affection of the parents.
Heaven did not rely merely upon our perceptions of duty toward our offspring, and our fidelity in its performance.  A powerful, all-mastering instinct
of love was therefore implanted in the parental, and especially in the maternal, breast, to anticipate the idea of duty, and to make duty a pleasure.
For all those children who have been bereaved of parents, or, who-worse
than bereavement-have only monster parents of intemperance or cupidity,
or any other form of vice, society is bound to be a parent, and to exercise
the same rational care and providence that a wise father would exercise for
his own children.
" I think we are now prepared to meet the question, fully and directly,
at what time, to what extent, and for what purposes, upon the great principles of natural law, the incoming generation is entitled to participate in the
benefits of the world's wealth. I answer, their claim to a portion of it begins
with the first breath they draw. The new-born infant must have sustenance,
and shelter, and care. If the parents cannot supply these, society succeeds to
the place of parents, and must supply them. If at any period previous to the
age of discretion, the parents are removed, or parental ability fails, society, at
that point, is bound to step in and fill the parents' place. To deny such support and succor would be equivalent to a sentence of death-a capital execution of the infant, at which every soul shudders.  But to preserve a child's
life only, and then to stop, would be, not the bestowment of a blessing or the
performance of a duty, but the infliction of a curse. A child has interests far
higher than those of mere physical existence. Better that the interests of the
natural life should not be cared for than that the higher interests of the
character should be neglected. If a child has claims to bread, to keep him
from perishing, he has far higher claims to knowledge, to keep him from error
and its retinue of calamities. If a child has a claim to shelter, to protect him
from the destroying elements, he has a far higher claim to be rescued from
the inJfCmy and perdition of vice and crime. If you will not legalize infanticide,
you must supply sustenance. If you will not prepare madmen or incendiaries
to destroy property and life, you must enlighten the intellect.  If you will not
invoke moral ruin, you must train up the young in the way they should go.
In a word, you must educate the mind as well as sustain the mere physical
existence.
" The time when this obligation attaches corresponds with the age when
the work can be most beneficially and efficaciously performed.  As the right
of sustenance, then, is of equal date with birth, the right to systematic intellectual and moral training begins at least as early as when children are ordinarily sent to school.  At that time, then, by the great and irrepealable law
1 5




226                   COMMON  SCHOOL  SYSTEM.
of nature, every child succeeds to so much more of the property of the community
as is necessaryfor his education. He is to receive this, not in theform  of property, but in the form of education. Under a republican form of government,
this obligation of the predecessors, and the consequent right of the successors,
extends to and embraces the means of such an amount of education as will fit
each individual to perform the common duties of a citizen. It may go further than this point; it certainly cannot stop short of it. The places and
processes where this transfer is to be provided for, and its amount determined, are the district school meeting, the town meeting, legislative halls,
and conventions for establishing or revising the fundamental laws of the
State. If it be not done there, the conmmunity is faithless to its trust.
" I bring my argument, then, to a close; and I present a test of its validity,
which, as it seems to me, defies denial or evasion.
" In obedience to the laws of God and to the laws of all civilized nations,
society is bound to protect natural life; and that natural life cannot be protected without the appropriation and use of a portion of the property which
society possesses. We prohibit infanticide under penalty of death. We
practice a refinement in this particular.  The life of an infant is inviolable
even before it is born; and he who feloniously takes it is as subject to the
extreme penalty of the law as though he had cut down manhood in its vigor,
or taken away a mother, by violence, from the midst of her maternal cares.
But why preserve the natural life of a child-why preserve unborn embryos of
life, if you do not intend to watch over and protect them, and expand them
into usefulness and happiness? You have no right-neither nature nor God
confer any right-to inflict the curse of birth, the curse of ignorance, and
vice, and poverty, and all their attendant unspeakable calamities upon any
creature. You are brought, then, to this inevitable test: EITHER EXTINGUISH
THE NATURAL LIFE, OR PROVIDE THE MEANS TO M3AKE THAT LIFE A BLESSING.
Give us the right of infanticide, OR GIVE US FREE EDUCATION! "
The  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were  then
reported  to  the  convention  for  its  consideration  and
discussion:
" Whereas, The system of FREE SCHOOLS, as adopted by Massachusetts, and
by several of the large cities and towns of this and other States, has been
found, by the practical experience of years, to work well, securing a more
general and punctual attendance of scholars, awakening a more widely extended and deeper interest in the minds of the great mass of the people in the
success of our primary nurseries of education, thereby ensuring the elevation
of the standard of Common School instruction, and more widely diffusing the
inestimable blessings of a sound and generous education; therefore,
" Resolved, That this convention, fully impressed with the importance of
the various considerations involved in this question of Free Schools, and believing that it is one that, sooner or later, will receive the approbation of all,




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.              22 
do most respectfully commend the subject to the calm and dispassionate consideration of the sovereign people of this State, and to the favorable notice
of the members of the convention about to assemble to revise the Constitution of the State.
" Resolved, That a certified copy of the above preamble and resolution be
presented to the presiding officer of the convention referred to, with the
request that the same may be laid before that honorable body for their consideration."
The resolutions were warmly supported  by Messrs.
WILKIINS and THOMPSON, of Rensselaer; MACK, of Rochester;  WILLARD,  HARRINGTON,  and  VALENTINE,  of
Albany; DuBOIS, of  Ulster;  COOPER, of Onondaga;
DENMAN, of Wyoming; HENRY, of Herkimer; and THOMSON, of Cayuga; who contended, in substance, that the
time for engrafting the system   of Free Schools upon
our existing organization had fully come; that public
sentiment in every section of the State was prepared
to adopt and sustain it; and that its recognition would
not only relieve trustees and  other officers of school
districts from  the oppressive burdens under which they
were now  compelled to  labor in the periodical assessment and collection of taxes and rate-bills, but would
bring  within  the  fostering  influences  of  the  schools
thousands  of indigent children, the  claims  of whose
parents  or guardians  to  exemption  were  now  either
overlooked or disregarded, and who, consequently, were
virtually deprived of the inestimable blessing of education.  The paramount duty and obligation of the State
thus to afford to each of its future citizens, without
distinction or discrimination, the amplest facilities  for
a  sound  and  comprehensive mental and moral education were strongly insisted upon, and clearly and fully
demonstrated;  the  superior  advantages  of the  Free
School system, wherever it had been introduced within
the State, as in New  York, Buffalo, Rochester, Brook



223            COMMION SCHOOL SYSTEM.
lyn, Williamsburgh, Hudson, Poughkeepsie, Utica, and
other places, pointed out and elucidated; and the importance of present action, in view of the pending reorganization of our frame of government, forcibly and
eloquently urged. On the other hand, Messrs. WRIGHT,
of Washington; ALLEN, of Saratoga; TERHUNE, of
Greene; ROBERTSON, of Tompkins, and others, while
conceding to its fullest extent the principle that the
schools throughout the State should be free and open
to all, without discrimination, restriction, or charge,
and supported by the taxable property of all its citizens, in proportion to the valuation of each, doubted
the expediency of a radical change in the existing organization, at the present time, and contended that,
however sound in theory and valuable in practice such
a change might be, the public sentiment was not yet
prepared for it; that its merits had not, as yet, been
generally or sufficiently discussed; and that by insisting
upon its adoption, under such circumstances, the most
imminent danger might accrue to the system as it now
existed. At the close of the discussion the preamble
and resolutions were adopted by a vote of more than
two-thirds of the members of the convention.
The State Constitutional Convention assembled at
Albany on the 1st of June ensuing. On the 12th, on
the motion of Mr. BOwDISH, of Montgomery, a standing  committee  on Education, Common Schools, and
their appropriate funds, was appointed by the President
(Hon. JOHn  TRACY, of Chenango), consisting of Mr.
HENRY NICOLL, of New York, as chairman, and Messrs.
BowDIsH, of Montgomery; MUNRO, of Onondaga; A.
W. YOUNGG, of Wyoming; TUTHILL, of Orange; WILLARD, of Albany; and HUNT, of New York; to whom
were referred a resolution by Mr. BOWDISH for an in



FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    229
quiry into  the expediency of the establishment of a
system of Free Schools for the State; a resolution by
Mr. ROBERT CAMPBELL, of Otsego, as to the propriety
of "a constitutional provision for the security of the
Common School, literature, deposit, and  other trust
funds, from  conversion or destruction; and the establishment, by the Legislature, of such a system of Common Schools as will, by taxation, bestow  the facility
of acquiring a good education by every child in the
State;" and the preamble and resolutions of the recent
State Convention of County Superintendents in favor of
the adoption of the Free School system.
On the 22d of July, Mr. NIcoLL, from the committee, reported for the consideration of the convention a
series of propositions for incorporation into the proposed constitution, declaring the inviolable appropriation of the capitals of the Common School, literature,
and deposit funds of the State to the support of Common Schools and academies respectively; and providing
"that the Legislature should, at its first session after
the adoption  of such constitution, and from  time to
time thereafter, as should be necessary, provide by law
for the free education and instruction of every child between
the ages of four and sixteen yea/rs, whose parents, guardians,
or employers, shall be resident in the State, in the Commou
Schools now established or which should thereafter be established therein; the expense of such education and instruction, after applying  the public funds as above
provided, to be defrayed by taxation, at the same time
and in the same manner as provided by law for the
liquidation of town and county charges;" this latter
proposition to be separately submitted to the people of
the State for their approval or rejection.
On the first day of October, Mr. BOWDISH made a




230            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
powerful and eloquent appeal in behalf of this great
measure, in which he was ably sustained by Mr. NICOLL,
of New York; Mr. WORDEN, of Ontario; Mr. G. W.
PATTERSON, of Livingston; Mr. RUSSELL, of St. Lawrence; and others; and on the 8th, the day preceding
the adjournment, the first section reported by the committee, permanently and  inviolably appropriating the
Common School fund to the support of Common Schools,
was, after some discussion, adopted, three members only
voting in the negative.  Mr. NICOLL then moved the
adoption of the following section, to be separately submitted to the people for their ratification:
"THE LEGISLATURE SHALL PROVIDE FOR THE FREE
EDUCATION AND INSTRUCTION OF EVERY CHILD OF THE
STATE IN THE COMMON SCHOOLS NOW ESTABLISHED, OR
WHICH SHALL HEREAFTER BE ESTABLISHED  THEREIN."
This section was adopted by a vote of 57 to 53 on a
call for the ayes and noes; and, on motion of Mr.
CHARLES H. RUGGLES, of Dutchess, a provision added,
directing the  Legislature  to provide for raising the
necessary taxes in the several school districts to carry
out the intention of the section. As thus modified, the
entire ninth article of the proposed constitution, as
reported by the committee, was agreed to by the convention, and ordered to be engrossed.  A recess was
then taken for dinner.
On the re-assembling of the convention in the afternoon, Mr. ARPHAXED  LOOMIS, of Herkimer, offered a
resolution to refer the article thus adopted to a committee of ONE, with instructions to strike out all that portion
relating to the establishment of Free Schools, and report the
same as amended, INSTANTER, to the convention. MIr. TAGGARD, of Genesee, sustained, and Mr. TOWNSEND  of




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.                231
New  York, opposed, this motion; but, under the operation of the previous question, it prevailed by a vote of
61 to  27.  Mr. LooMIS immediately  reported  as  instructed, and his report was agreed to by the convention.  The ninth  article, as finally adopted, and  as it
now stands, was as follows:
" The capital of the Common School fund, the capital of the Literature
fund, and the capital of the United States Deposit fund, shall be respectively
preserved inviolate. The revenue of the said Common School fund shall be
applied to the support of Common Schools; the revenue of the said. Literature
fund shall be applied to the support of academies; and the sum of $25,000
of the revenues of the United States Deposit fund shall each year be
appropriated to and made a part of the capital of the said Common School
fund."
Thus terminated the first effort for the establishment
of FREE SCHOOLS; and an interval of more than twenty
years was destined to elapse before its final accomplishnent.  An entire generation  of children were destined
to pass from  birth to full maturity before the exertions
of its indefatigable advocates and  champions throughout the  whole  of  the  intervening  period  should  be
crowned with success.
On the 1st of October, SAMUEL L. HOLBIES, of Westchester, received  the appointment of General Deputy
Superintendent of Common  Schools, in  place  of Mr.
Randall, whose  resignation  and  temporary  retirement
from   the  State  had  become  necessary  from   failing
health.
The  annual report of the  Superintendent for the
year 1847 showed a considerable increase in the number
of children under instruction, and of about 58,000 volumes to the several district libraries.  Under the provisions of an  act passed  the  preceding  year, schools
for the instruction  of Indian children had been organized in Onondaga, Cattaraugus, Allegany, and St. Regis




232                COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
reservations, under circumstances eminently favorable to
the intellectual and  moral improvement of this class of
the population.
" A successful administration of the school laws of the State," observes
the Superintendent, " requires an intelligent and active local as well as general supervision; and without the former, it is believed the present organization must eventually be abandoned, and one less complex in its details and
stringent in its requirements adopted in its place. * * * After struggling
through a long series of years to elevate our schools, to infuse a greater zeal,
and excite a higher interest in regard to them, without advancing one step
in attaining these objects, actual visitation and inspection were provided as
a substitute for an inefficient local supervision. The results of this change
have been and are now seen and deeply felt in our own State and by our own
people, and have justly excited commendation and approval wherever they
are known in other States."
By  an  act passed  in  February  of this year, on  the
recommendation  of the Superintendent, the inhabitants
of the several school districts were authorized to apply,
in  their  discretion, the whole or such  portions of the
library  money  as  they  might deem   expedient, in  the
purchase of either books, maps, globes, or scientific apparatus for the use of their schools respectively.
At the special session of the Legislature in November succeeding, an  act was  passed  abolishing  the office
of County Stuperintendent.  For this measure the friends
of the system, although  they  had  with  entire  unanimity resisted it for a series of years, were not altogether
unprepared, aware  as  they  had  become  of  the  great
unpopularity  of the  office, growing  out of the injudicious selection  in  many  instances  of the  incumbents,
by  the  respective  boards  of  supervisors,  whose  functions, however useful and  important in  other  respects,
had no especial reference to the educational wants and
interests  of  the  community.   Political  qualifications
were  not unfrequently  made  the  prominent  tests  of
fitness for the  discharge  of  the  responsible duties of




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    233
school supervision; and while far the greater number
of these officers were eminently qualified for their position, and faithful to its high trusts, there were but
too many who were justly obnoxious to the charge,
not only of incapacity and want of moral character,
but of a perversion of the responsible functions conferred upon them to sinister personal and political ends;
and the indignation excited by these instances of disregard of duty and moral obliquity gradually extended
itself to other localities where no reasonable grounds
for suspicion existed.  The meager compensation also
attached to the office —500 per annum, only-when
taken in connection with the amount of time and labor
required for the faithful performance of its duties, precluded the possibility of obtaining, except in rare instances, the services of men of the necessary qualifications and character; and the slight pecuniary burden
of defraying one-half of this salary from  the county
treasury was magnified and dwelt upon by the interested, the narrow-minded, and the designing, until the
Legislature was annually flooded by petitions for the
abolition of the office, as unnecessary, oppressive, and
improperly administered. Committee after committee, to
whom these petitions were referred, reported against the
adoption of the measure desired, and the soundest and
most convincing arguments were brought to bear upon
the great and manifest utility of the office. It was clearly and repeatedly shown that the abuses complained of
were such as admitted of an easy and practical remedy,
while the advantages secured by the retention of this
class of officers could be obtained through no other agency. Public clamor, however, persisted, year after year, in
demanding the repeal of the obnoxious act, and in the
face of the avowed and strong opposition of the sue



234                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
cessive  heads of  the department, of the  several  committees of both houses of the Legislature charged with
the supervision of the interests of public instruction,
and of the great body of the most enlightened friends
of  education  throughout  the  State, this  most  unfortunate and ill-advised measure was consummated.
The  Hon.  CALVIN  T.  HULBURD,  of  St. Lawrence,
Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Colleges, Academies,
and  Common  Schools, of the Assembly, in 1843, in an
able report, made  at  that  session, after  enumerating
the various advantages to be derived from the system,
observed:
" After a full and deliberate investigation, the committee have unanimously concurred in the preservation of the County Superintendent system'
believing it to be, with the additional power now conferred (that ofjurisdiction on appeal), not only the most economical and efficient, but the most important provision in our complex and extensive organization of public instruction."
Mr. L. H. BROWN, chairman  of the  same  committee, in  1845, after a  thorough  and  able  investigation
of the whole subject said:
" No benefit would be likely to accrue from abolishing the office of County
Superintendent which would not be more than countervailed by the evils that
would necessarily ensue. Public attention has been called to the state of the
schools; the importance of giving such a character to the district school as
would supersede the necessity of select schools has been made evident; a
demand for an improved order of teachers, and for more uniformity in textbooks, has been induced; a better style of school edifices has been substituted; and a marked improvement has taken place in the manner of the scholars, as well as in their attendance and proficiency. These are believed to be the
legitimate results of a good system of county supervision.""-" These officers hare
brought about a new era in the State; they have done more for the cause of primary education, swithin three years, than had been done for half a century pre.
viously."
The  Hon. HORACE  MANN, of Massachusetts, in  his
annual report, as Secretary of the Board of Education
of that State, for the year 1845, said:




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    235
"The great State of New York, by means of her Conty Superintendents,
State Normal School, and otherwise, is carrying forward the work of public
education more rapidly than any other State in the U)nion, or any country in the
world."
The Hon. HENRY BARNARD, late Superintendent of
Common   Schools  of  the   State   of  Connecticut,  and
formerly   Commissioner  of  Public  Schools  of  Rhode
Island, in  an  address  delivered  before  a  State  Educational Convention, at Syracuse, in April, 1845, said:
"I have watched the progressive improvement in the organization and
administration of the school system of this great State with intense interest; and I regard it, at this time, as superior to any other of which I have any
knowledge, for its extent, its liberality, its efficiency, and the general intelligence
and activity with which its wide-spread affairs are administered. Resting
on the broad basis of the whole people, acting through the minute territorial
subdivision of school districts, this admirable structure rises harmoniously
with the political organization of the State in other respects, through towns
and counties, till it finds its natural head in the State, as represented in the
legislative and executive departments; and proceeding hence, its action, at
once simple and direct, is spread out through your county and town superintendents to the trustees of school districts, elected directly by the people,
for whom they act, and with whom  they sympathize, and whose cordial and
intelligent support, as parents and individuals, is the main condition of success, in every one of the eleven thousand school districts. But the most admi
rable feature in your schol system is the provision for County Superintendentsthe enlisting of the services of fifty or sixty intelligent men, acting under the
specific requirements of the school laws, and the general direction of the head
of the school department, directly upon every school, and every teacher, and
every district and town school officer; and very widely upon the parents of
the children, as well as the children themselves, within their corporate
limits.  There is nothing to be compared with this in the school system of any
o'ther State.  Under the continued operation of this plan of supervision, the
spirit of improvement must be aroused, and must pervade every town and
every district in the State. I should look upon it as a calamity to the cause
of school improvement in other States should this experiment of county
supervision be arrested or defeated at this time.  There is nothing in all the
wise legislation of your State, in regard to public instruction, unless, perhaps,
the liberal appropriation for district libraries, which the friends of public education elsewhere are so anxious to see adopted into the school system of their respective States. Its abolition would be everywhere regarded as a long stride backwards.
It would be better to curtail the amount distributed to the schools for other
purposes than to save in the compensation of this class of officers, whose
labors, at least, double the value of all your school expenditures, by awakening




236                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
and diffusing public and parental interest, and giving life, intelligence, and
progress to teachers and local school officers."
But, perhaps, the most full and complete exposition
of the advantages and benefits to be derived from the
system of county supervision will be found in the following  communication  by  the  Hon. JOHN  C. SPENCER,
in  reply to  an inquiry relative to his views on this subject, pending  the  attempt for  the repeal of  this  provision of the system:
LETTER OF THE HON. JOHN C. SPENCER.
"ALBANY, March 24, 1846.
"DEAR SIR: I cannot refuse a compliance with the request, contained in
your letter of the 21st instant, to express my views in reference to the bearing
which the office of County Superintendent of Common Schools has upon the
interests of those schools, assuming that its duties are faithfully discharged.
The subject is one of such vital importance to the welfare of the rising generation, and to the whole community, that I should deem myself recreant to
the duty of a good citizen, if I should, when thus called upon, withhold
the expression of an opinion, however slight may be its claims to consideration.
" The views and opinions which were communicated by me, officially, to
the Legislature in 1840 and 1841, upon this subject, not only remain unchanged, but have been strengthened and confirmed by subsequent reflection
and observation, and by the experience of the last four years. As I can add
nothing to what was then said, I beg your indulgence for repeating some of
the considerations which were then urged, in a condensed form.
"1. No public or private undertaking can possibly succeed without some
supervision which can detect imperfections and errors arising from negligence
or incompetency, and can promptly apply the needful remedy. It would be
disrespectful to you, and to every intelligent person who may peruse these
remarks, to suppose that this proposition required a single word to demonstrate its truth.
"2. To accomplish the purpose of its creation, the supervision must be
conducted by those who understand their duties, who are qualified to discharge them, and who are themselves under supervision, and responsible to
others.
" Apply these plain principles to our Common Schools. There are twelve
thousand of them, at least, scattered over the broad surface of this State, in
which some eight hundred thousand children are instructed. How is it to
be known whether these schools are rendering any useful service? How are
the defects in their organization, their arrangements, the system of instruc



FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    237
tion, or the capacity of their instructors, or the fidelity of their officers, to be
ascertained, without the investigation and scrutiny of competent persons?
And how can their deficiencies be supplied and their errors corrected without
such knowledge?
"3. Every other mode of insuring this supervision, than that of local
superintendence over a district of country, has utterly failed, and, from the
nature of things, must fail. The records of the department show that the
simple duty of visiting the schools, by the inspectors of the different towns,
has always been grossly neglected. In the year 1839, 4,397 schools only, out of
10,127, were visited, even once, during the year. This is taken as a specimen,
not as an average, for it is believed that the average of visits for two
years preceding 1840 would fall short of this number.  And these visits,
when made, were productive of very little benefit.  It is no disparagement
to our fellow-citizens, who were usually chosen inspectors, to say, that generally, they had not themselves acquired the knowledge of the subject which
is necessary to enable any one to discharge the duties of such an office.
They were not, ordinarily, competent to judge of the qualifications of
teachers, or to test the progress of the pupils, by examinations, or to detect
the errors of the system  of instruction, or to suggest improvements.  But
upon this point we have the most conclusive evidence, in the reports of the
county visitors, who, in 1840, visited the schools in many counties, and communicated the results of their observations to the department, and which
were submitted to the Legislature in 1841. [See No. 153 of Assembly Documents of that year.]  A reference to their reports will, at once, satisfy every
one of their intelligence, capacity, and fidelity. Among them will be found
the names of our most distinguished citizens, and- conspicuous particularly
for the zeal and devotion they have uniformly exhibited for the improvement
of our elementary institutions. Upon this point, of the total inefficiency of
the system of inspection and supervision which then prevailed, their testimony is as decided as it is intelligent and disinterested.  It is, of course,
idle to expect any personal attention to the schools by the State Superintendent. He can only supervise the whole machinery, by general directions, and
keep it in order by watching its general movement, and by regulating and
controlling the chiefs of sections, holding them to a strict accountability,
and personally acquainting himself with the manner in which they discharge
their duties.
" It is evident, then, I think, that unless the present (the county) or
some similar system of local inspection and supervision be maintained, there
will be none whatever, and our schools will be left wholly to the management of their teachers, without any efficient responsibility, and at liberty to
discharge or neglect their solemn duties, as may suit their own convenience,
without aid or advice to sustain them, to point out their errors, or to suggest improvements.
"The present system (that of 1841) is a harmonious whole: the result of
many years of gradual development of the necessities of the schools, and
the means of supplying them.  It has been matured slowly, step by step, by




238                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
the wisdom and patriotism of men of all parties and denominations, until it
has reached a degree of perfection that challenges the admiration of all our
sister States. And no one feature has mtt with such universal approbation as
that now under co)nsideration-the arrangement and distribution of what may
be termed the executive department.  You and I know the estimation in
which this feature is held by those distinguished friends, advocates, and
laborers, in the cause of elementary instruction, HORACE MANN, of Massachusetts, and HEIRY BARNARD, the Secretary of the Board of Education of
the State of Connecticut. They consider this feature as placing our system
altogether above those of their own States, and as furnishing, in itself, the
means, equally certain and practicable, of future improvement.
" The opinions of that ardent, and active, and laborious friend of education, Dr. ALONZO POTTER, who has lately removed from us, are also well
known. He had observed the operations of the system with all the anxiety
of a devoted friend, and the convictions of experience corroborated and confirmed all his anticipations of the absolute necessity of such superintendence.
In this connection should be noticed the testimony of our disinterested, most
intelligent, and devoted friend, the lamented FRANCIS DWIGHT. You know
how intensely this very subject occupied his mind during the last year of his
most useful life, and with what care and labor ha was collecting information,
to lay before the Legislature, in order to show the inestimable importance of
the existing plan of local superintendence to the success, and even to the
useful existence, of our Common Schools. His minute and thorough acquaintance with the working of the system throughout the State, his disinterested
and noble devotion to the cause, and the frankness with which he yielded
his opinions to the forc6 of evidence and of truth, render his testimony
worthy of the most profound respect and consideration. He believed that
where the duties of County Superintendents had been performed, with anything like fidelity, they had been eminently beneficial; that the schools had
improved, the teachers had improved, parents were awakened to a sense of
the importance of these nurseries of mind, and the general sympathy of the
community, in favor of the schools, and their improvement, had been excited,
invigorated, and extended.  From the facts and results which he communicated to me, from time to time, for several months previous to his death, I
came to the same conclusion which he had formed: that the plan of inspection and supervision, through County Superintendents, had worked admirably in
every county where it had been fairly and honestly executed, and that it was the
mainspring of our whole system, which kept in life and motion and regulated its
movements in a manner as perfect as could be accomplished by human contrivance.  And I heartily and entirely concurred with him, that if this mainspring was removed, irregularity, disorder, and confusion, would inevitably
follow-the present strong feeling in favor of our schools would not only
subside, but that there would be great danger of its giving place to disgust
and disappointment.
" So far as I can learn, but two objections have been made to the present
system. One is, that in some instances there have been unfortunate selections




FOURTH  PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.                    239
of persons as County Superintendents, and that these persons have neglected
their duties, and perverted their stations to other than their legitimate purposes. But I cannot bring myself to believe that any intelligent man would
be influenced in his judgment of a system by the negligent or improper conduct of a portion of those who are appointed to execute it. Such a test
would prove all our political institutions to be equally unworthy of support;
for there is not one of them that has not, at some time, been in incompetent
and unfaithful hands. So long as a corrective is vested in the immediate representatives of the people, it is impossible that the evil can be extensive or
permanent. The other objection referred to is the expense to the counties.
This brings me back to the question whether our Common School system is
of such value to posterity that any expense cught to be incurred in maintaining and improving it? If the plan of County Superintendents is calculated
to preserve that system, to render it more capable of good, to secure competent teachers, and insure their fidelity, then a reasonable expenditure for
that object is, and should be, as much a part of the whole system as the
payment of teachers' wages.
" I have endeavored, in compliance with your request, to show that this
plan of county superintendence is essential to the working of our system;
that it forms an indispenadble lina  in the chain of connection between the
principal executive and the teacher-between the State and the pupil. Much
more might have been said, but I felt the necessity of brevity-less I could
not say. I confess I feel deeply and earnestly for the continuance of what I
sincerely believe to be the most valuable and important feature in our system
of popular instruction; and I fervently hope that this Legislature will, at
least, allow it an opportunity for more full and extended experiment, in the
confident expectation that it will more and more commend itself to the intelligent approbation of our fellow-citizens.
"Very respectfully, your friend,
"J. C. SPENCER."
" SAMUEL S. RANDALL, Esq."
With  all these strong  testimonials before  them, the
Legislature  of 1847, nevertheless, saw  fit to  repeal the
act creating  the  office  of County  Superintendent; and
thus, in the judgment of many of our most distinguished
and  eminent fellow  citizens, to take  the  first step in a
career of manifest retrogradation.
Its  effect upon  the  prosperity  and  advancement of
the  Common  School system  was, in  many  essential respects,  most  disastrous.   During  a  period  of nearly
forty years, the progress of that system  had been unin



240            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
terruptedly onward and upward; and a succession  of
wise enactments had strengthened and consolidated its
foundations and expanded its usefulness in every direction.  The destruction of that feature which, perhaps,
more than any other, had come to constitute its most
distinctive characteristic and crowning excellence, giving
to its details their peculiar symmetry and power, was
the first retrograde step in its history. Its consequences
were speedily manifested in the comparative inefficiency
and inutility of the local and general supervision of the
schools-in the absence of any connecting link between
the department and the several town and district officers and the inhabitants of the respective districts-in
the discontinuance of a local appellate tribunal where
the numerous controversies constantly springing up relative to the external affairs and internal arrangements
of the districts might be equitably adjusted by a disinterested officer on the spot-in the facilities afforded
for a perversion or wrongful appropriation of the public
funds by the absence of any responsible check-and in
the utter impracticability of obtaining, with any accuracy, those statistical details, in reference to the practical operation of the system, so indispensable to the
department, to the Legislature, and the public.  Nine
hundred town superintendents, however well qualified
for the discharge of the special duties devolved upon
them, within their limited  jurisdiction, were wholly
unable to supply the place and fulfill the functions of
county officers in constant communication with the State
Superintendent and with each other, whose abilities were
or should have been unquestioned, whose influence was
extensive, and their means of usefulness unrestricted.
The dial of progress and improvement was set back for a
long series of years —only to be restored and advanced by
a radical and fundamental change in the entire system.




FOURTH  PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.                  241
Some compensation was, however, made by the passage, during the same session, of an act for the encouragement of TEACHERS' INSTITUTES, by  which  the sum
of sixty  dollars was required  to be annually  appropriated, from   the  income  of  the  United  States  Deposit
fund, to the use and benefit of each of these institutions.
An act was also passed authorizing the appropriation  of
such  portion  of the library money as the  Superintendent, on  special  application   for  that  purpose,  might
direct, to  the payment of teachers' wages, where the
number of volumes in  such  library exceeded  one hundred, or in large districts one hundred  and twenty-five,
and where the district was properly supplied with maps,
globes,  black-boards, and  scientific  apparatus, for  the
use of the schools.
At the opening of the Legislature of 1848, the Governor (JOHN  YOUNG) thus  adverted  to  the subject of
education:
" In our country, for reasons that have been so often and so well stated
that I need not repeat them, the education of its children has been, and, I trust,
will continue to be, matter of the deepest solicitude. Common Schools,
from their universality, reaching every neighborhood, and shedding their
influence upon every family and into every mind, expelling the primary
causes of vice and crime, and erecting altars to patriotism and virtue, have
justly been considered the peculiar objects of legislative care.
"The practical importance of the State Normal School for the education
of teachers is beginning to be felt; and in the tone, strength, and vigor
given to Common Schools, by distributing through the State teachers who
shall have been thoroughly instructed, it is believed will be found most convincing arguments in defense of reasonable, but liberal, appropriations by the
State to this object."
The annual report of the Superintendent for the ensuing  year, 1848, exhibited  an  increase  of about eight
thousand children under instruction; and in the number
of volumes in the district libraries of 107,847, during the
preceding year, making the entire number 1,311,000.  In
16




242                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
reference to  the question  of Free  Schools, the  Superintendent thus eloquently  and  earnestly  discourses:
The extension of Free Schools in the State is progressing moderately,
and laws are passed at nearly every session of the Legislature providing for
their establishment in wealthy and populous villages, while the poorer and
less populous districts in the same towns are left to struggle on, from year to
year, in the best way they can, sustaining a school, perhaps, only four months
in the year, to secure the next apportionment of the public money. Is this
policy just? Is it right to discriminate in this manner between the school
children of the State? Why should ample provision be made for the children residing in particular localities, and others be turned over to the naked
bounties of the State, which, although munificent in the aggregate, are only
sufficient to pay a few weeks' tuition for each child? This great and essential question turns simply on the smode of taxation. By changing this, and
requiring the boards of supervisors to raise upon the counties respectively a
sum equal to the amount apportioned from the treasury to each county for
the support of schools, and upon the towns another sum equal to the apportionment of each town from the school funds-increasing the local taxation
of the counties not to exceed five-tenths of a mill on the valuation in any
county-our schools might be rendered nearly free to every child in the
State. Our fellow-citizens have heretofore cheerfully acquiesced in the imposition of a tax to support the government, and sustain the credit of the
State, of more than twice the amount proposed to be raised in the plan suggested. What improvement, internal or external, is more worthy of the fostering care of the Legislature, or of greater importance to the community,
than the mental improvement of those who are soon to exercise all the privileges of citizens, and wield the destinies of the State? It would be an unjust
impeachment of the patriotism and good sense of the people to suppose they
would not cheerfully embrace and cordially approve any reasonable measure
which will reflect so much honor on the present, and confer such benefits on
the future."
Of the abolition of the office of County Superintendent he observes:
" The act abolishing the office seemed to be in accordance with the popular will, and should be cheerfully obeyed; but the wisdom and expediency
of the measure must be tested by the experience of the future. The labor and
expense thrown upon this office in consequence of this legislative act cannot
justly, and, therefore, does not, form any ground of complaint with the undersigned. With the other official duties devolved upon the incumbent of
this office, a personal supervision and inspection of the schools, however desirable, is wholly impracticable. This question is then presented to the grave
consideration of the Legislature and the people of the State: Are we to dis



FOURTH  PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.                   243
pense, entirely, with all personal visitation, inspection, and supervision, except
what may be performed by the local town officers? And are we not, hereafter, to have any statistical information of the condition of our schoolhouses, and of the condition of the winter and summer schools, from year to
year; the number of schools visited, and pupils in attendance; the course and
extent of the studies pursued; with the compensation paid to teachers, their
time of employment, sex, and qualifications? To repeat the just encomiums
bestowed upon our system in all its parts, as it recently existed, and which
distinguished educators and philanthropists in other States have urged upon
the consideration of their legislatures as worthy of being incorporated into
their own systems, might seem disrespectful. Other plans might be suggested that would, no doubt, if adopted, greatly add to tie efficiency of our
local inspection and supervision, and take the place of that which has recently
been abolished; but whether at this time any suggestions of this sort would
be likely to meet with public favor may well be questioned."
The operations of the State NORMAL; SCHOOL, during
the  past three  years, had greatly  tended to strengthen
the confidence of the people in this institution, and to
realize the expectations of the friends of education generally throughout the State.  The number of pupils was
about  two  hundred, and  the  semi-annual graduating
classes varied from forty five to sixty-five. The whole
number of graduates  up  to  the  1st of January, 1848,
was two  hundred  and  thirty-four;  of whom  two  hundred and twenty-two were actually engaged in teaching
in  the  Common  Schools of the  State; and  out of five
hundred  and  thirty-seven, who  had  been pupils of the
institution  since its  commencement, four hundred  and
twenty-one were then  employed  as teachers.
The institution, at this period, however, received a
severe blow, and the friends of education sustained an
irreparable loss, by the death of DAVID P. PAGE, its distinguished  Principal, which  took  place  on  the  1st  of
January, 1848.  Although  still in the prime of life, Mr.
PAGE  had   attained  a  reputation  and  standing  as  a
teacher hitherto  unsurpassed  in the  Union.   To  intellectual qualifications of the highest order, he added all




244            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
those moral virtues and Christian graces which are so
indispensably requisite to every instructor of youth.
He was, in all respects, admirably adapted to the successful performance of the high functions which had
been devolved upon him, and which he had accepted
and entered upon with unfeigned diffidence in his own
capacity and strength for so great an undertaking; and
to the perfect order, system, and harmony which he infused into all the departments under his charge, and
his luminous expositions of the duties, obligations, and
responsibilities of the teachers he was training, a large
share of the prosperity and success of the institution
was pre-eminently due.  His admirable course of lectures on the "Theory and Practice of Teaching," annually delivered to  the pupils prior to  graduation,
embraced a comprehensive and exhaustive view of the
whole subject, and were, in all respects, worthy of his
genius and character as a model teacher, and of the extensive appreciation which its subsequent publication
has universally received among the friends of popular
education throughout his own and other States.  Prof.
PERKINS, who had been associated with him since the
organization of the school, succeeded him  as Principal;
and WILLIAM F. PHELPS, one of its earliest pupils and
graduates, was placed in charge of the Experimental
School. DARWIN G. EATON, WILLIAM  W. CLARK, and
ANN MARIA OSTROM, also pupils of the institution, were
promoted to professorships.
On the 12th of April an act was passed for the
permanent establishment of the school, appropriating
$15,000-afterward increased to  $25,000-for the erection of a suitable building for its accommodation in a
commodious location, in the immediate vicinity of the
Capitol and State Hall, where the institution is still in




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    245
successful operation.  Prof. PERKINS was succeeded as
Principal in the school by S. B. WOOLWORTH, of Cortland, who was succeeded by DAVID H. COCHRAN.
By an act passed May 7, 1847, the Board of Education of the city of New York was authorized, in case
the act should be approved by a majority of legal voters
in the city, at a special election to be held for that
purpose, to establish a Free Academy, with collegiate
powers, for the advanced education of the pupils of the
Public Schools.  Such approval having been obtained
by a vote of 19,400 in favor, against 3,400 opposed, the
institution was duly organized early in 1848, by the appointment of Prof. HORACE WEBSTER, of Geneva College, as President, and a full corps of professors and
tutors.




SECTION II.-ADMINISTRATION OF SECRETARY CHRISTOPHER
MORGAN —1848 TO 1851.
Progress of the Free School Controversy.-Message of Governor Fish.
- Reports  of the  Superintendent. -  Colored  Schools. - Indian
Children.-District Libraries.-Act for  the Establishment of
Free Schools.-Its  Adoption  by the People.-Petitions for its
Repeal.-Legislative  Discussions.- Mr.  Kingsley's  Report.State Free School Convention at Syracuse.-Resubmission to the
People.-Popular Vote.-Repeai of the  Act Defeated.-Compromise Act of 185i.-Prominent Advocates of the Free School
System.-Sectarian Schools.-Schools in Cities and Villages under
Special Laws.-Report of the Code Commissioner.
ON  the first lay of January, 1848, the Hon. CHRIsTOPHER MORGAN, of Cayuga, who, under the provisions of the Constitution of 1846, had been elected
Secretary of State in November of the preceding year,
entered  upon the discharge of his official duties as ex
officio Superintendent of Common Schools.   Since  the
repeal of the system of county supervision, these duties
had become so onerous, through the great increase of
the number of districts, and  of local officers charged
with their immediate administration, that it was found
almost wholly impracticable for an officer of no previous experience in  this  respect, and  charged with the
performance of a variety of other official duties of an
independent nature, to  devote  any considerable share
of his time and attention  to the department of Com-,
mon Schools.  The daily correspondence of this department, involving the necessity of examining and answering  from   seventy  to  eighty  letters  of  inquiry  and
advice  from   officers  and  inhabitants  of  the  several




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    24T
districts; the investigation and decision of the numerous appeals from the proceedings of district meetings,
the acts of trustees and town  superintendents; the
examination of reports from the various officers charged
with the local administration of the system, and the
preparation of the annual reports to the Legislaturedemanded the entire time and energies of any one individual, and rendered it absolutely necessary to devolve
the principal labors of the department upon the Deputy
Superintendent.  The incumbent of that office at this
time was ALEXANDER G. JOHNSON, of Troy, a gentleman
of superior talents, and in all respects well qualified for
the duties of the position. This arrangement enabled the
Superintendent, Mr. MORGAN, while exercising a general
supervision over the affairs of the department, to devote all the time he could spare from his other official
duties to the conduct and management of the great
FREE SCHOOL CONTROVERSY, which was now in progress,
and into which he at once entered with all the enthusiasm and energy of his nature.
At the opening of the session of the Legislature
of 1849, Governor HAMILTON  FISH, in  his message,
expressed his strong  conviction of the necessity and
desirability of the restoration of the office of County
Superintendent, and spoke in the highest terms of the
success of the State Normal School, which, in his judgment, was entitled to be no longer regarded as an experiment.
From  the annual report of the Superintendent, it
appeared that the number of school districts in the
State at this period was 10,621; the number of children
under instruction during the year 1847, 775,723; the
total amount of money expended in the support of the
schools, $1,105,682, of which $639,000 was contributed




248            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
from  the State Treasury, and $466,690 from  rate-bills;
the amount expended in the purchase of libraries and
school apparatus, $81,624; and the number of volumes
added to the libraries during the year, 27,862, making
an aggregate of 1,338,848 volumes.  In fifteen counties
of the State, schools for colored children had been organized, at which nearly five thousand  children were
in attendance, and for the support of which the sum of
$17,000 had been expended. The whole number of colored children in the State was estimated at not less
than 11,000.  "The colored population," observes the
Superintendent, "is enumerated in the census of the
State, and is a part of the basis of the distribution
of the school fund.  Colored children are enumerated
by the trustees in  their annual reports; they draw
public money for the district in which they reside, and
are equally entitled with white children to the benefit
of it.  In the rural districts of the State, they are
generally admitted into the Common Schools.  If unreasonable  prejudice  exclude  them  from  the village
schools, the trustees are empowered to establish separate schools for them.  They draw the public money
to which they are entitled, and the trustees can exempt
those parents who are unable to pay a rate-bill, the
exemptions becoming a charge upon the whole district.
A special appropriation for incorporated villages only
excites prejudice and parsimony.  The trustees of the
village will generally expend the special appropriation
for the colored children, and the public money drawn
by them  will be shared among the white children of
the other schools.  There seems to be no satisfactory
reason for this special appropriation.  It cannot be
justly urged that negroes are an especial burden to
incorporated villages, any more than to cities or rural




FOURTH PERIOD. FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    249
districts, and that they are therefore entitled to an
extraordinary allowance of money to educate them."
Schools for the instruction of Indian children had been
established upon the St. Regis, the Onondaga, the Cattaraugus and Allegany, and the Shinecock reservations,
in all of which about 375 pupils had been instructed.
The Superintendent informed the Legislature that
applications had been made to him  from  the trustees
and inhabitants of some four hundred districts for his
official approbation to the diversion of the whole or
portions  of the  library  money  to  the  payment of
teachers' wages, under the act of 1847, and that such
approbation had in every instance been withheld, "believing that every volume in a well selected library is a
perpetual teacher to all who will go to it for instruction; that the district libraries cannot be too large; and
that the people are in no  danger of learning  too
much."  "Selections for the district libraries," he observes, "are made from  the whole range of literature
and science, with the exception of controversial books,
political or religious-history, biography, poetry; philosophy, mental, moral, and natural; fiction-indeed, every
department of human knowledge contributes its share.
The object of this great charity was not merely to
furnish books for children, but to establish in all the
school districts a miscellaneous library suited to the
tastes and character of every age.  By means of this
diffusive benevolence, the light of knowledge penetrates
every portion of the State, and the sons of our farmers,
mechanics, merchants, and laborers have daily access
to many well selected books, of which, but for this
sagacious policy, a majority of them would never have
heard.  If knowledge is power, who can calculate the
energy imparted to the people of this State by the
district school and the district library?"




250                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
Teachers' Institutes  had  been  held, under the  provisions of the  act of 1847, in sixteen counties, in which
upward  of one  thousand  teachers had  been  in  attendance.  An  increase in  the appropriation  for this  object
was urgently recommended.
In reference to the local supervision of the schools,
and  the office of County Superintendent, he observes:
" It is believed that the friends of the Common School system in the State
very generally desired the continuance of the office. It was, however, abolished, and without even proposing a substitute. There is now no intermediate officer between this department and the town officers. Such an office is
needed as the medium of communication with the nine hundred town superintendents, and eleven thousand school districts. The territory is too large, its
subdivisions too many, its relations too diverse, the local offices too numerous, and the interval between the department and them too wide, to permit
that actual and minute supervision which is necessary to an efficient administration of the school laws. The undersigned would therefore recommend to
the Legislature two measures, either of which, in his opinion, will be approved by the friends of the Common School system, and will supply a want
daily felt in this department: 1st. A repeal of the Act of 1847, and a restoration of the office of County Superintendent-making it elective by the people; or, 2d. The election of a superintendent in every assembly district, except
in the city of New York and the cities which now have or shall hereafter
have a city superintendent, or board of education. Among the powers and
duties of such district superintendent should be the following: to make the
abstract of the reports of the town superintendents in his district; to recommend persons from his district as pupils of the State Normal School, and for
State certificates of qualification as teachers; to visit each school in his district at least twice a year, once in the summer and once in the winter, and
to make such reports of his visitation as may be required by the State Superintendent; and to hear and determine all the controversies arising in his district under the school laws, an appeal being allowed from his decision to this
department."
The  Superintendent then  proceeds  to  examine  the
present condition  of the  school law  in reference to  its
provisions for the support of schools, and  to  base upon
it  a  recommendation  for  the  adoption  of  the  FREE
SCHOOL SYSTEM:
"The mode of supporting a school under the present system," he observes,
"is as follows: The trustees employ a qualified teacher, for stipulated wages.




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    251
At the close of his term, they give him an order upon the town superintendent for such portion of the public money as may have been voted by the district for the term, or in case no vote has been taken for such portion as they
think proper; but in no case can they legally draw for more money than is
due the teacher at the date of the order. If the public money is not sufficient to pay his wages, the trustees proceed to make out a rate-bill for the
residue, charging each parent or guardian according to the number of days'
attendance of his children.  They have power to exempt indigent persons,
and the amount so exempted is a charge upon the district, and may be immediately collected by tax, or added to any tax thereafter levied. After the
rate-bill is completed, thirty days' notice of its completion is given by the
trustees, one of whom must be in attendance on a day and at a place appointed in said notice, once a week for two successive weeks, to receive payment; and during the whole of the thirty days any person may pay to either
of the trustees, or to the teacher, the sum charged -to him upon the rate-bill.
At the expiration of the thirty days, if all the persons named in the rate-bill
have not voluntarily paid, the trustees put it, with their warrant, into the
hands of the district collector, who has the same authority to collect it, by
levy and sale of goods and chattels, as a town collector. He is also authorized to collect fees, not only upon the money paid to him, but upon that paid
voluntarily to the trustees, or the teacher, and is allowed thirty days to make
his return to the trustees.
"A more troublesome or vexatious system could not well be devised.  The
teacher, having performed his contract, is yet obliged, unless the trustees advance the money, to wait thirty or sixty days for his pay. The first thirty
days' delay under the notice is of no advantage to any one.  The time of the
trustees is spent uselessly; nothing is gained by the payment to the trustees
or teacher. Is there any other instance upon the statute book in which legislation compels a man to wait sixty days for his wages, after he has completed his work? In the absence of any contract, the wages of the laborer
are due and payable when his work is done. In the case of the teacher, the
payment of his wages is postponed for sixty days after his school is closed,
for payment from trustees cannot be enforced until the time fixed by law for
collection has expired.  Any slight error in the apportionment of the rates,
or in the legal form for making it, subjects the trustees to a suit, by any one
of whom a few cents may have been illegally collected; and, unfortunately,
there are not wanting, in every town, persons ready to avail themselves of
such errors. The trustees can, if they choose, make out a tax for the amount
of exemptions, and the collector is bound to collect it for the trifling fees
upon a five or ten dollar tax-list.  Courts may, it is true, deny costs to a
plaintiff in a suit against trustees where the latter appear to have acted in
good faith, and boards of supervisors may order a tax to be assessed upon a
district to refund both costs and expenses incurred in suits by or against
them on account of the discharge of their official duties; but the law allows
them nothing for their responsibilities and labor, either in the discharge of
their duties or in the prosecution or defense of suits.




252                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
"Now a FREE SCHOOL SYSTEM may be devised that shall relieve trustees
from the duty of making out rate-bills or tax-lists in any case, and from all
litigation arising therefrom, and which shall secure to the teacher his pay
when his work is done. It may be made applicable only to the towns, requiring the cities, however, to make their schools free, but leaving them to
adopt such an organization as shall be suited to their peculiar wants.
" Teachers complain of the rate-bill system, not only because it improperly withholds their wages, but because the trustees find great difficulty in exercising with fidelity and at the same time satisfactorily the power of exemption. While the cupidity of the tax-payer is excited, the pride of men
of moderate means is aroused, and their sense of independence revolts at being
certified and put upon the record as indigent persons.
" The rate-bill system requires every person to pay in proportion to the
attendance of his children.  How strong, then, is the inducement of many
parents to wink at absence and truancy, and how little are they inclined to
second, by parental authority, the efforts of the teacher to enforce punctuality and regularity of attendance!  The fact that the number of children
attending school less than four months uniformly exceeds the number attending a longer time furnishes strong evidence for believing that the rate-bill
system is the principal cause of the irregular attendance of scholars.
" Letters have been addressed to the Superintendent, from various parts
of the State, urging him to recommend to the Legislature the Free School system, and assuring him that the people are ready to sustain such recommendation. It is urged by its opponents that those who have property are taxed
to educate their own children as well as the children of the poor; and that
those who are thus blessed with property, but denied children, are also
obliged to contribute something for the education of the indigent.  Those
who have omitted their duty, or are more fortunate than their neighbors in
the possession of property, have no reason to complain of the trifling burthen
which good fortune imposes upon them.
" Are property holders wronged or injured by this system  of taxation?
Property is the creature of law. Its ownership is regulated by law; even
the income of some kinds of property is limited by law.  Human beings are
property in South Carolina, and the taxes assessed upon them, and paid out
of the earnings'of their labor, go to the support of Free Schools, while in this
State there can be no property in man. Land is property, and in civilized
countries it constitutes the bulk of all proptrty, yet it is not property in
the absence of law.  What idea of property in land has the Camanche
Indian, or a Calmuck Tartar?  To him the land is as free for his roaming as
the air for his breathing, or the water for his drink. The wild Bedouin will
guard as his own his tent, his camel, his wife; but his laws are the keenness
of his scimetar and the fleetness of his steed. The security of property is one
of the paramount objects of government; but how shall that security be
obtained? By the stern restraints and crushing force of military power?
The experience of the last year in Europe and America has proven that
there is greater security for persons and property in the general intelligence




FOURTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.                   253
and education of the people than in an overawing soldiery. Europe has
been convulsed-cities have been the scenes of fearful and mortal strifefields have been laid waste by the contending armies-governments have
been overthrown —revolution has followed revolution-uncertainty and insecurity are stamped upon all things —political changes have been effected
only by civil war and commotion. The people of the United States, on the
other hand, have effected the choice of a Chief Magistrate, involving a
change in the policy of the government. It was accomplished in a day, with
the cheerful and peaceful acquiescence of the Union. These are the results
of the intelligence and moral elevation of the American people. There is a
moral and intellectual power in the universal education of the people which
furnishes more abiding security for persons and property than disciplined
armies. Property must be taxed to support a soldiery: why should it not,
then, contribute to a system of protection which may preclude the necessity
of armies l Crimes and pauperism are too often the results of ignorance.
The detection and punishment of the one, and the support of the other, are
mainly effected by the imposition of taxes upon property. Is it not wise,
then, to establish a system of education, universal and complete, which may,
in a great measure, prevent the commission of crime, and avoid the evils of
pauperism?"
On the 26th of March, 1849, the "ACT ESTABLISHING
FREE SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT THE  STATE" was passed by
the  Legislature.  Its prominent provisions were as follows:
Common  Schools  in  the  several school districts of
the State were declared free to all persons residing in
the  district  over five  and  under  twenty-one years of
age.   It  was made  the  duty  of  the  boards of  supervisors of each  county to  raise annually by tax, on their
respective  counties, in  addition  to  an  amount equal to
that apportioned  by  the  State, an  amount upon  each
town,  in  such  counties, equal to the sum  apportioned by
the  State  to  such  town, thereby  requiring  an  assessment  upon  the  whole  county  equivalent to  twice the
amount apportioned  by the  State.  In addition  to this,
the trustees of each district were required, within thirty
days preceding the time of its annual meeting, to prepare an  estimate  of the amount necessary to  be raised




i54             COIMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
in the district for the support of its school, for fuel,
furniture, school apparatus, repairs, and insurance of
school-house, and contingent expenses, during the ensuing year, over and above the amount thus provided
by law, and received from the State, and the income of
local funds, and to post the same conspicuously on the
school-house door and other public places in the district. At such annual meeting the legal voters of the
district were authorized and required to pass upon such
estimates, item by item, and to cause to be levied on
the taxable inhabitants of the district such amount as
the majority of voters should approve and determine.
In case of their refusal or neglect to raise such an
amount as, in conjunction with the public money apportioned by the State, and raised under the preceding
provisions of the act, and the local funds applicable to
that purpose, would support a school, for at least four
months in each year, keep the school-house in proper
order, and furnish the necessary fuel, then the trustees
were required to employ a teacher, repair the house,
and supply it with all necessaries for that period, and
levy a tax upon the district accordingly. Free and gratuitous education was required to be given in each of
the Public and Common Schools in each of the cities
of the State; and the electors throughout the State
were required to determine by ballot, at the ensuing
November election, whether the act should or should
not become a law, and take immediate effect.
Very little opposition was made to the act; and at
the annual State election its provisions were sanctioned
and approved by a vote of 249,872 in its favor to 91,951
against-a majority of 157,921.  Four counties onlyTompkins, Chenango, Cortland, and Otsego-gave majorities against it, amounting in the aggregate to 1,257,




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    255
while the aggregate majorities in its favor, in the remaining fifty-four counties, was 158,181.
The official term  of the Secretary having expired,
Mr. MORGAN was re-elected; and on the 10th of December, S. S. RANDALL was re-appointed Deputy Superintendent, in place of A. G. JOHNSON, appointed Deputy
Secretary.
By an act passed on the 30th of March, of this year,
the sum  of $250 was appropriated annually for three
years to the trustees of such academies as the Regents
of the University should designate, for the instruction
of at least twenty pupils of each, for four months of
each year, in the science of Common School teaching.
Notwithstanding the almost unanimous vote of the
electors of the State in favor of the act for the establishment of FREE SCHOOLS, it was met at the very outset of its practical administration by the most determined
and wide-spread hostility. In nearly half the counties of
the State, the sessions of the board of supervisors had
passed over before the official annunciation of its adoption, and consequently no provision had been made for
the additional town tax required by the law. The large
deficiency of funds thus occasioned was in these counties
left to be supplied by the voters of the several school
districts; and, in addition to this, in these and a large
proportion of the remaining counties, the inequality in
the taxable property of the several districts contributed,
to a very great extent, to render the operation of the
new law burdensome and oppressive. Many of the heaviest tax-payers had no direct interest in the schools; and
wherever they constituted a majority of the legal voters
in the district, or through their influence were able to
control such majority, all appropriations for the support of the schools beyond the minimum  term  of four




256              COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
months required, as a condition of receiving the public
money, were refused. The validity and constitutionality
of the act were, in some influential quarters, seriously
questioned, upon the ground of its conditional submission to the people; a very general disaffection toward
its provisions and. toward the system itself sprung up
in nearly every section of the State, especially in the
rural districts, where it was nearly universal; and petitions for its immediate repeal or modification were
poured in upon the Legislature from all quarters.
During the session of 1850, several bills were brought
forward in each house for this purpose, and for the
removal of the obnoxious features of the law.  Able
reports were made by the Hon. JAMES W. BEEKMAN,
of New York, chairman of the Literature Committee of
the Senate, and by the Hon. LEWIS KINGSLEY, from  a
select committee raised on this subject in the Assembly, in both cases strongly and uncompromisingly adverse to the repeal of the act, but assenting to and proposing such legislation as should remove all reasonable
grounds of complaint in its practical execution. In the
House, the Hon. SILAS M. BURROUGHS, of Orleans,
chairman of the Committee on  Colleges, Academies,
and Common Schools, reported a bill providing for the
levying of a general State tax of $800,000 annually for
the support of the  schools, in conjunction with the
revenue of the school fund, leaving whatever deficiency
should remain to be supplied by rate-bill, as heretofore.
The bill passed the Assembly by a vote of 70 to 30,
but failed to receive the concurrence of the Senate,
which body, however, passed a bill, reported by the
Hon. CHARLES A. MANN, of Oneida, and concurred in,
on the last day of the session, by a close vote in the
House, referring the direct question of the repeal of the




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    25 T
act of 1849 to the voters of the State, at the ensuing
annual election.
The friends of FREE SCHOOLS, after the most strenuous and persevering, though ineffectual, efforts to obtain
such amendments or modification of the law as might
render its provisions generally acceptable, determined,
under these circumstances, to make a firm and compact
stand against its unconditional repeal.  They  united
with great unanimity in the call for a STATE CONVENTION at Syracuse on the 10th of July. The report of
Mr. KINGSLEY, from  the  select committee  of the
Assembly, faithfully represents the views entertained by
the most intelligent and well-informed opponents of the
existing  law. Fully appreciating  the importance and
value of the universal education  of the people, and
aware of the progressive efforts from time to time made
by the Legislature for the promotion of this great object-freely admitting that it is the unquestioned right
and highest duty of the State to provide such education, free to all, the committee yet insist that the
Schools established under its supervision, and supported
by its bounty, should be so suported by such a system
of taxation as should diffuse its burdens "in a fair, just,
and equal proportion, according to the different interests
different persons may have in the subject, or the immediate
or remote benefits they nay derive from the sums thus appropriated."  "We claim  not," they observe, "that the
State should so bestow its means as to give every one,
freely, a collegiate or even an academic education; but
only that it is bound by every consideration of utility
and justice to furnish the means for the common education  of every  child  within  its  boundaries-that it
should give to every one an opportunity for so improving the powers which nature's God has given him that
17




258                COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
he  may  be  enabled  to  discharge the  ordinary  duties
of life with  ease, and  correctly, and  be  also  prepared
to proceed farther and  farther into the great ocean of
science which lies before him.  Else the State has not
performed all its duty-it has not done all in its power
to increase the virtue, safety, prosperity, and happiness
of its people-and  in  so far is a  debtor to  those who
made  it."   The  committee, after reviewing the history
and  progress of the  Common  School system, from   its
inception to the present period, when from a productive
capital of upwards of two  millions of dollars the sum
of $285,000 was annually  appropriated  from  the  public
treasury  for  the  support of schools and  school libraries, and  an  army  of nearly  800,000 children  gathered
into  those  institutions, and referring  to the immediate
impulse  to  the  adoption  of the  act of 1849, growing
out  of the  ascertained   exclusion   from   the  Common
Schools of the  State  of nearly  fifty  thousand indigent
children, whose parents either declined, from motives of
pride  and  a spirit  of independence, to  claim  or were
refused  the exemption provided by law, go  on to  say:
" This law has now been in operation some four months only; and yet we
are daily receiving petitions for its amendment, or its total and entire repeal.
Already there have been presented over forty petitions for its amendment,
and over two hundred and fifty for its repeal. They come from every corner
of the State-from our villages, our secluded districts-from our boards of
supervisors, our town meetings, our district meetings, our public officersfrom public meetings-from the high and the low, the rich and the poorthose who voted for and those who voted against it-all ages, conditions,
and classes are here-and respectfully ask us either to make essential and
important amendments to the law, or by its repeal to place us where we were
before. In this manner and for these purposes some twenty thousand navmes,
of which over seventeen thousand are for repeal, have been presented to us;
and we are called upon by every consideration of duty and interest to listen
to these complaints, and grant such relief as may be in our power to bestow."
After  canvassing  the  objections to  the  law, arising
on the one hand from  the unequal pressure of taxation,




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.                   259
and  on the other from  the discretionary powers vested
in the inhabitants of districts to limit the continuance
of  their  schools  to  four  months  in  each  year,  by
refusing the necessary appropriations for their support
for a longer period, the  committee  proceed:
"It is further claimed by the petitioners for repeal that it is not the duty
of the government to support Common Schools by compulsory taxation; that
it is a law of nature that the parent should take care of the education of his
children, while the law, in effect, takes it from him and gives it to the State;
that minors are taxed for their property without their consent; that old men
who have by their industry accumulated property, and educated their own
children in such a manner as they thought best, are now taxed for the education of the children of others; that the law, though intended for the
benefit of the poor man, works against him, as it, in many instances, shuts up
the school against his children during eight months of the year; that the
old law afforded all needed help to the poor, and was voluntary, while the
present is compulsory; that the law is unconstitutional, or, if not, is unjust and
cannot be sustained; that it helps the vicious and indolent only-with a
thousand other objections of a minor character, equally applicable to the old
and new law, and which, if valid here, would be equally valid against any
taxation for any purpose whatever."
The majority  of the  committee, believing  that the
law  was susceptible of amendment, had prepared a bill
for that purpose    "They  have  thought it their duty,
in  view  of the overwhelming  majority in favor of Free
Schools, at the  last election, to  amend the law  rather
than  repeal  it-to   cure  its   infirmities  rather  than
to take away its existence."  With this view, they were
in favor of the imposition of a direct State tax, for the
raising  of a sufficient  amount to  support the  schools
of the State, in conjunction  with the funds already at
its disposal; but, apprehensive of the strict constitutionality  of such  a tax, they proposed a similar county
tax-apportioning  its  avails  in  an  equitable  manner
among  the  several districts in  the  ratio  of numbers
and   attendance  of pupils-and  requiring  the  schools
to be  kept open  for  eight months during  each  year.




26.0                C3OMMION  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
The  minority,  on  the  other hand,  represented  by  3Mr.
KINGSLEY, dissented  from  these views and  conclusions.
While  they  would  not  rashly  propose  to  go  back  to
the  former  system, if any  other  alternative presented
itself,  they   felt  "constrained  to  think  that  in  the
present crisis no other course is open before us; that
no other plan will satisfy  our people, or remove the deep
and   all-pervading   feeling   of   hostility   which   exists
against the  present law; that, amend it as we may, it
will still be the system  of which they so heartily  disapprove  now-of  which, we fear, they  would  as heartily
disapprove hereafter."
"It is beyond a doubt," they continue, " that the people do disapprove of
the details, at least, of the present law. Its operation has had a withering
and a blasting effect. Is it not, then, reasonable to believe that although the
law be amended, and its more repulsive provisions stricken out, if it still
retain any of its old features, it will, notwithstanding all its amendments,
be unpopular with the people. We think that it is; and, thinking so, cannot
turn a deaf ear to the thousands of petitioners who have asked its unconditional repeal. They ask that they may return, for the present, at least, to their
old and well-tried system, satisfied as they are that it is not always well to
change from a good and available plan to one untried and unknown.  The
Free School system promised well; the name had in it a charm-it was pleasant to the ear of a poor man-it sounded musically to him as he thought of the
benefits it would confer on his children around him; the man of moderate
means and the man of wealth were as charmed as he; all thought not of its
possible evils, butlooked only at its probablebenefits, and the good it had
done in the crowded city; and the result was that a majority, counting by
its tens and hundreds of thousands, spoke in favor of the law.  A few
months only and the feeling is changed; the poor man finds, as the law colmmences its workings, that his children are deprived of a part even of their
former privileges-for the school-house door is now closed at times when it
was open before-and there are stern feelings rising in the breast of the rich
man against him, as one whose children he is obliged to educate by compulsion, which he is loth to do; the man of moderate wealth, the man of
great wealth, and the one who has educated his own family, according to the
means with which he was blessed, now find their taxes increased-their poor
neighbors educating their children upon the funds the law has wrung from
them-and they imbibe a stern prejudice against it in all its aspects, provisions, and features. The minority are constrained to believe that, amend that
law as we may, it will be looked upon with an unfavorable eye, and regarded
by all with unconquerable feelings of aversion."




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    261
After reviewing  the principal features  of the amendments  proposed, the  minority  continue:
" But we base an objection upon another ground still.  Admitting, as we
may safely do, the abstract justice of the imposition of this additional tax,
still it would be unwise and impolitic, from  the general disapprobation with
which it would be regarded. It cannot be doubted that great opposition
will be made to such a tax, and that the system which requires it will be
viewed with a very general disfavor and repugnance.  If this be so, the law
cannot have a good effect-our Common Schools cannot prosper. To flourish
they must be established in the affections of our people; they must not be
met with opposition or ill-will; our districts must not be the arena of personal strife and animosities-for as surely as they are, so surely will the cause
of popular education languish and decay-so surely will rank grass and
weeds grow  around our school-house doors-so surely will our Common
School system  be numbered among "the things that were," wounded and
killed by the lavish kindness of its friends.   From  such a result may we be
mercifully spared!
" Other objections throng to our minds, " thick as autumnal leaves in Vallambrosa," but we forbear to mention them.   Enough, it seems to us, has
been said, and we, therefore, leave this part of the subject with the remark
that these reasons have influenced us to think that the present law should be
unconditionally repealed.  To this conclusion we have come with great
reluctance; but it is one from which our better convictions, our sincere desire
for the prosperity of our Common Schools, will not permit us to escape.   If
we err, it is not from the heart.
"But we are asked, are you opposed to Free Schools?  Our answer is
an emphatic negative.  OUR COMMON SCHOOLS SHOULD AND MUST BE FREE;
but we are not of opinion that the present law makces themz so, however it may be
named; or rather that the principle of the present law is no more a free
school one than was the principle of the former. Under each system no one
was excluded; every one could then, as every one now, find an open door,
and a teacher to educate him. The only real difference in the two is, that in
the one the money was raised by a rate-bill; in the other, by a direct tax; in
each instance the property of the district pays the amount, though in different
proportions. Both, then, may be called Free School systems, if we correctly
understand the term, and apply it to a system which provides that a certain
amount shall be raised by a tax, and then all children shall share in its benefits.
"But we opine that the Free School system, as the people now understand
it-as they understood it at the last election-means something different from this; that it means one which is sustained directly by the State, without
any individual taxation whatever, except in a small degree, as we will presently
mention. Such a system the minority are desirous of having. At the present
it may be impossible; but " there's a good time coming," and we hope at a
day not far distant that a system.like this will be ours.   For the present.




2632                COMM0ON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
however, we think there is no other course for us to adopt but to return to
our old rate-bill system.
" The minority would not be understood, in any part of their argument,
to take decisive grounds against the support of our Common Schools by the
bounty of the State. They do think that it will never be wise to entirely
dispense with the rate-bill system. As just mentioned, we are in favor of a
Free School law by which the State shall furnish all the means, except a very
small portion to be raised in a proper manner from those sending to school.
But we also think it well not to pass from the rate-bill system to this with too
great rapidity. It should be a gradual change, and one for which the people
will all be prepared-which will not come upon them unawares, but which will
be foreseen, expected, and desired.  Through such a change we are now passing."
The  minority  of the  committee  concurred  with  the
majority  in  reporting   for  the  consideration   of  the
House a bill submitted by Mr. MCLEAN, of Livingston,
re-submitting  the  question  to  the people of the  State
for their decision;  and  in  conclusion  remark:
"Let what will be the action of the Legislature in regard to this momentous question, your committee earnestly hope that it will be for the benefit of
our Common Schools; that by us their interests may be protected and nourished, their prosperity increased, and their means of usefulness enlarged and
extended; that whatever system may finally be adopted will be loved of the
people-a system whose roots will enter deeply into their hearts and affections,
and whose kindly shade will extend over all the State its grateful protection
and shelter: then will we all pray,'Lord, ever let it flourish; Lord, ever
keep its verdure green!'"
On  the  10th  of  July, the  Free  School State  Convention assembled  at  Syracuse,  consisting  of  a  large
collection of delegates from every section of the State.
The Hon. CHRISTOPHER  MORGAN, State Superintendent,  was  elected  President.  On  taking the  chair, he
thanked  the  convention  for the  honor  conferred  upon
him, and  remarked  that he  came  to  the  convention,
in  common  with  the numerous  assembly  present, as a
friend of free and universal education, and to inform
himself of the views and  wishes of its  advocates  and
supporters throughout the State.  He was attached to no
particular mode of carrying out the great principle; but,




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.                  263
as a citizen  of New  York, he came to  claim  for every
child  that degree  of instruction  in  science, literature,
and  morality  that is  necessary  to  enable the  son or
the daughter of the poor man to stand up as the equal
of the child  of the rich-so  that, starting  with  equal
advantages, the prizes of life may be won by the most
meritorious and  deserving.  He  respected  the motives
of the large class of his fellow-citizens opposed to the
present law; yet, whatever reproach  might be brought
upon him, he should do all in his power to advance the
education of all the children of the State at the expense
of those  who  have the means.  He was every day told
by  some one, "I have  educated  my own children, and
why should  I pay  for the education of the children of
others?"   He would  say  to  all such:   "Neither, perhaps, have you a child in the poor-house or the penitentiary; and yet you are paying a large amount every
year for the support of the children of others who are
there, mainly  because they have been deprived by your
selfishness, and that of others like you, of the blessings of education."
The following resolutions were reported by  the committee  appointed  for that purpose:
1. That the proposition before the convention and the State was, not
that our present Common School law, in all its provisions and details, is perfect; but that this law should be maintained in so far as it provides that our
Common Schools shall be free to all the children of the State.
" 2. That the pwinciple upheld by this convention-the principle which
should be fixed and established in the political economy of this State-is that
THE PROPERTY OF THE STATE SHOULD EDUCATE THE CHILDREN OF THE
STATE, or, in the words of the first section of the act of 1849, " COMMON
SCHOOLS, in the several school districts of this State, SHALL BE FREE TO ALL
PERSONS residing in the district over five anld tunder twenty-one years of age.
" 3. That the true welfare of a State is to be attained, not wholly by highways and canals, by asylums and penitentiaries, by a police and standing army,
but by the development of the physical, intellectual, and moral energies of
the people; therefore, if the former should be sustained at the public ex



2G4                COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
pense, much more should the thorough education of the whole people be
amply provided for from the same source.
"4. That the emphatic vote of the people, at the last election, in favor of
the act establishing FREE SCHOOLS throughout the State, was clearly indicative of the deliberate sanction and approval of the PRINCIPLE which dictated
the enactment of that law; and that no defect in the subordinate details of
the provision thus made for the universal education of the children of the
State can warrant or justify the abandonment of that principle, or the total repeal of the law.
" 5. That we pledge ourselves to use every proper means of influence in our
power, individually and collectively, to procure the renewed sanction of the
people to the great PRINCIPLE OF FREE SCHOOLS, as the only sure and effectual palladium of their freedom, happiness, and prosperity-as the best safeguard of their rights, and the surest preservative of those noble institutions
handed down to us by the fathers and framers of our Republic.
" 6. That we are opposed to the restoration of the old school law, because
its operation had become contrary to the principles of democratic government. While it professed to be liberal, it gave the avaricious parent an excuse for keeping his children from the schools; while it should have furnished
intellectual aliment free to all the children of the State, it virtually drove
thousands and ten of thousands from the school-houses, by wounding their
pride, and branding them  as paupers, or refusing them the exemption to
which, under its provisions, they were entitled. While it should have discriminated between the right of the child and that of the parent or guardian
to public beneficence, it often treated unkindly and blasted the hopes of the
former, on account of the improvidence or misfortune of the latter; and
while it was far better than no system of public education, it did not supply
the wants of the rising generation who were calling for " light, more light
still."
"7. That we will most cordially unite in the recommendation to the Legislature of such an amendment of the act of 1849, establishing Free Schools,
as shall make the expense of supporting such schools, over and above the
revenue of the Common School fund, a charge upon the real and personal
property in the State, county, or town, equitably assessed according to a just
and fair valuation of such property, and such other modifications of the act
as they in their wisdom shall see to be best and deem expedient and proper."
These resolutions were ably and eloquently sustained
by  Messrs. 0. B. PIERCE, of  Oneida;  BLOSS, of Monroe;  WALDO; the  Rev. SAMUEL  J. MAY, of Syracuse;
STARR, of Rochester;  the  Rev. HENRY  MANDEVILLE,
of Albany; Dr. LORD, of Ohio;  and  WALKER, of New
York.   Mr. MCMASTERS, of New  York, then  took  the
floor in opposition to the resolutions and the entire




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAM3PAIGN.    265
system  of Common School education.  The State, he
observed, in prescribing a system  of public education,
and taxing the people for its support, assumed an
authority which did not belong to it.  It purposed, in
so doing, to invade the family sanctuary, and rob the
parents of their authority over their children.  Each
individual was entitled to use the products of his toil
as he pleased, and all contributions for educational
purposes should be made as a matter of charity.  In
reference to every species of religious instruction introduced into the public schools, the State proposed to
invade the province of the church.  By the exclusion
of what was termed dogmatic religious teaching, true
religion was wholly ignored.  No religion could exist
without dogmas.  Mr. MCMASTERS was replied to by
MIr. RANDALL, of Albany, who invited all the opponents
of the Free School system  who might be present to
present their views and objections, and thereby enable
its friends to answer their arguments, and meet them
fairly on their own grounds.
Mr. BASCOMa, of Seneca, thereupon avowed himself
an opponent of both the act of 1849 and the Free
School system  itself; and as a challenge had been
thrown out by Mr. RANDALL, he would accept it, and
take up the gage.  He had no sympathy with that
sordid meanness of avarice which would withhold education from the poor.  He found no one in the convention willing to swallow the law as it was, nor any one
who denied the right of every child to a good education.  tie thought an unwise course had hitherto
been  pursued by the State.  At an  early day, the
public lands of the State were pledged for the education of the people.  A permanent fund, yielding a
revenue of $275,000 annually, had, from this and other




266             COMMON SCHOOL SYSTE.I.
sources, come into the possession of the State, which
should have been exclusively applied to the education
of the poor.  We had heard much of the school system of New England, as superior to that of the Empire
State.  But a Senator of this State (Mr. BEEKMiAN, of
New  York) had shown, by incontrovertible statistics,
last winter, that New York stood higher in this respect
than any other State of the Union, or nation of the
earth.  He objected to the law  and to the system,
because it had not secured the good-will of the people,
which was every thing in carrying out any enterprise.
IHe referred to the bad effects of the law in diminishing the interest of the people in education, and weakening  the  incentives which  were necessary to  true
improvement.  He instanced, as an  illustration, the
peasantry of a certain district in Europe, who some
years ago were industrious, virtuous, brave, and happy;
but the church stepped in, and by her bounties, dispensed with too liberal hand, that peasantry had now
become the lazzaroni of Italy. He contended that real
and personal property should be placed on an equal
basis for the purpose of taxation.  The latter was not
now half taxed, on account of the deductions allowed for
debts, while those debts were not regarded as real property.  Public institutions also, such as banks, railroads,
and canals, should not be taxed for educational purposes
in the localities where they are situated, but for the
benefit of the school fund of the State generally.
Mr. GREELEY, of New York, replied to the objection
of Mr. MCIMASTERS, that the State had no legitimate
power to educate its children.  What was the State?
Who constitute the commonwealth?  The people were
the State, and we, the people, could do by our majorities what might be deemed essential for the public




FOURTH PRIOD. -FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    264'
good.  All conceded to the State the power to build
prisons, penitentiaries, and poor-houses; and why has
it not power to build school-houses, where the necessity for prisons and poor-houses might be removed?
As to religious instruction, he did not conceive dogmas essential to religion.  "Pure religion and undefiled" was, as defined by the Apostle James, "to visit
the widows and fatherless in their affliction, and to
keep ourselves unspotted from the world."  There was
no danger in the great doctrines of love to God and
love to men.  Why should dogmas of any kind be
linked to this beautiful principle? We do not propose
to banish this kind of religion from any of our schools.
The contest, he said, into which we were about entering, was between universal education, on the one hand,
and popular ignorance, on the other. He spoke of the
increased prosperity of our schools under the new law.
The number of these institutions had greatly increased,
and who  would  oppose a system  that gathers  our
children in the eleven thousand school-houses of the
State?  He concluded by expressing his earnest hope
that by the final adoption of this system  of Free
Schools we should inaugurate a new era in the history
of New York.
The President (Mr. MORGAN), on taking leave of the
convention, took  occasion to remark, in reply to the
charge of despotism  that had been preferred against
the Free School system, that education would so elevate every mind that virtue, instead of vice, would
abound;  happiness, instead  of misery, prevail; and
independence, instead of despotism  and servility, distinguish every individual.  We impose taxes, as has
been properly observed, for the support of the police,
the prison, the poor-house, and the asylum.  Is this




268                COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
despotism?  lie would tax the people for such an  education  as will do away with all these, and make true
men  and women  of all our people.  If  this be despotism, God  grant that such  despotism  may increase
and  flourish  throughout  the  State  and  the  world!
"Let us  declare,"  he  said,  "in  thunder  tones, that
every  child has a right to  an  education;  that every
child shall be educated; and that the law, by its strong
hand, shall  draw, if  necessary, from   the  pockets  of
those  who have the money, and not the heart to contribute of their abundance to such a glorious enterprise."
A   letter  was  then  read, from   the  venerable  Dr.
ELIPHALET NOTT, President of Union  College, strongly
recommending  the  adoption  of the  Free  School system.   The  discussion  was  then  resumned  by  Messrs.
WALKER, of New York; RANDALL, of Albany; PIERCE,
of Oneida, and  others;  after  which  the  question  on
the adoption of the resolutions was unanimously carried.
The following  address to  the people  of the  State,
prepared by a committee consisting  of HORACE GREELEY  and JAMIES W. BEERMAN, of New  York; CHARLES
B. SEDGWICI, of Onondaga; ALANSON HOLLY, of Wyoming; WILLIAM  F. PHELPS, of Albany;  SAMUEL  B.
WOOLWORTH, of Cortland; and  0. G. STEELE, of Erie,
was then reported, and read by Mr. GREELEY:
"FELLOW-CITIZENS: At the instance of your chosen law-makers, you
voted last November on the question of opening your Common Schools,
without charge or distinction, to all the children of fit age residing within
your State, and your majority in favor of such opening was overwhelming.
In this voting, you did not imply that the details of the Free School act of
1849 were perfect, nor were you understood as so deciding. You left the act
open to amendment by each successive Legislature, whenever amendment not
inconsistent with its vital principle should be deemed advisable. Your last
Legislature, in full view of these facts, instead of correcting any errors which,
in the first reduction of a great principle to practice, are well-nigh unavoidable, decided to re-submit the law, with all its alleged " imperfections on its




FOURTH  PERIOD. —FEEE  SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.                     269
head," for your approval or rejection this fall. In other words, the Legislature, while it left its own work undone, requirecT you to do yours a second
time. And now the enemies of Free Schools seek to profit by this neglect,
coupled with the unfair manner in which the question is re-submitted, and
to secure your suffrages in opposition to the free principle, by harping on
and magnifying the defects and inequalities in the details of the law. They
would have you believe that in voting with us you vote against any amendment of the present law.
"Against this statement we most emphatically protest.  The issue
ought to have been fairly and truly presented by the act of last session"For Free Schools " or " Against' them; for that, and that only, is the question to be decided. A vote on our side simply affirms the principle that our
Common Schools shall be free; a vote against us is, in effect, a vote to return 
to rate-bills and trustee exonerations-a vote to re-establish distinctions of
caste in our Common Schools, and to subject a portion of our children to the
bitter humiliation of being pointed out as district paupers.  To revive these
distinctions is to banish thousands of children from  the schools altogether,
and doom them  to long-life ignorance, through the mistaken but natural
pride of their poverty and kindred. A vote against us in the approaching
election is a vote to recede from the educational platform of Massachusetts,
in the direction of Virginia, Italy, Turkey. A vote against the law, as the
question is now most unfairly presented, is a step toward popular ignorance,
barbarism, and moral night.
" Whoever among you has had patience to follow an opponent of the law
through his devious course of reasoning, well knows that his citadel is the
assumption that " it is wrong to tax one man to educate another's children,"
unless it be the children of absolute paupers.  This assumption, if conceded,
is fatal, not to Free Schools merely, but to any Common Schools whatever.
If elementary education be properly and only a parental duty, then the State
should leave it wholly to the voluntary and unassisted efforts and combinations of parents.  Then the taxation of a district to build a school-house is
usurpation and extortion. Then all the laws which have been passed, making
compulsory provision for Common Schools, or intended to increase their
efficiency, are impertinent, agrarian, and confiscating. Yet few of our opponents will venture to take this or any other ground of radical hostility to the
Free School principle.  The difference between their position and ours is
mainly one of degree. We abide consistently by the principles on which
only can any public provision for education be justified; they stop half-way,
and, in so doing, condemn their own course in coming so far.
"To the assertion that it is wrong to tax A to provide instruction for the
children of B, we reply that we would tax both A and B for school purposes,
each in proportion to his ability-not as parents, but as possessors of property, and because property is deeply interested in the education of all.
There is no farm, no bank, no mill, no shop-unless it be a grog-shop-which
is not more valuable and more profitable to its owner, if located among a
well-educated, than if surrounded by an ignorant population.  Simply as a




27O0                  COMMION  SCHOOL  SYSTEM.
matter of interest, we hold it to be a duty of property to itself to provide
education for all.  Not, therefore, as the children of A or of B. but as children of New York-her future cultivators, artisans, instructors, citizens,
electors, and rulers-we plead for the education of all, at the cost and for the
benefit of all. In a community where a single vote cast in ignorance may
involve the country in war, in aggression, and untold calamities, property
cannot afford that there be any considerable proportion of ignorant voters;
nor ignorant mothers of voters.  To whomsoever shall urge the duty of B to
educate his own children, in spite of his relative poverty, we say, urge upon
him that duty to the extent of your powers of persuasion, and we will second
you as well as we may. After the State has done all in its power, there will
be enough for every father to do in the way of educating and disciplining
~his children.  But this rudimentary intellectual culture of the Common
School is an undertaking, not of individual parents, but of the communitythe State-and the State should provide therefor, as it provides for its other
institutions. It has very wisely declined the care of Public Worship, which
in other countries forms a very important portion of its duties and the public
burthens, and has nobly assumed the charge of popular education, which
other governments too generally repudiate. Having thus resolved that B's
children shall be educated, not for his sake, but in furtherance of its own
policy, and in deference to its own safety, the State would do wrong to tax
his poverty to defray the cost of this safeguard to property.  The Common
Schools of New York are to her what their respective standing armies are to
Russia and Austria, and it would be as fair to support the latter by a per
capita tax as the former. The child of indigence who attends the district
school is discharging a public duty, and should be as welcome there as the
child of affluence and social distinction.  He should be made to feel that his
cue training and development are the subject of general solicitude. Property
can better afford to educate four children in the school-hhouse than one in the
street.  The teacher when fairly remunerated, as he too often is not is a far less
expensive functionary than the sheriff, the district attorney, or the judge.
One burglar or thief costs more to the community than all the teachers of an
average township.  The statistics of our State prisons prove that at least
three-fourths of our criminals are drawn from that one-fourth of our population which has enjoyed the least educational advantages-mainly, no such
advantages at all. Let our Common Schools be abolished to-morrow, and
property would soon be taxed many times their annual cost, in the shape of
robberies, riots, and depredations. For every teacher dismissed, a new deputy
sheriff, constable, or policeman, would be required.  And the dismissal from
our schools of those children of poor, but not abject, parents, whom the Free
School law has called into them, would be identical in principle with the
destruction of the schools altogether. A large portion of our children would
be educated if there were no Common Schools, but these we know would
not be.
" But we are asked why a citizen who has worked, and saved, and thrived
should pay for schooling the children of his neighbor, who has drank, and




FOURTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL  CAMPAIGN.                     271
frolicked, and squandered, till he has little or nothing left. We answer, he
should do it in order that these needy and disgraced children may not become
what their father is, and so, very. probably, in time, a public burthen, as
criminals or paupers. The children of the drunkard and reprobate have a
hard enough lot, without being surrendered to his judgment and self-denial
for the measure of their education. If they are to have no more instruction
than he shall see fit, and feel able to pay for, a kind Heaven must regard
them with a sad compassion, and man ought not utterly to leave them uncared for, and subjected to such moral and intellectual influences only as
their desolate homes may afford. To stake the education of our State's future
ralers and mothers on such parents' ideas of their own ability and their children's moral needs is madness-is treason to the common weal. They will be
quite enough detained, even from Free Schools, by supposed inability to
clothe or spare them; but to cast into the wrong scale a dead weight of paternal appetite and avarice, in the form of rate-bills, is to consign them heartlessly to intellectual darkness and moral perdition. And, in truth, the
argument for taxing, in equal amounts, the improvidently destitute and the
frugally affluent father of a family, for school purposes, is precisely as strong
for taxing them in equal amounts to build court-houses, support paupers, dispense justice, or for any other purpose whatever. Nay, it is even strongerfor the drinking, thriftless, idle parent, is far more likely to bring expense on
the community, in the shape of crime to be punished, or pauperism to be supported, than his thrifty and temperate neighbor; and, according to our adversaries' logic, he should pay more taxes on his log-cabin and patch of weedy
garden than that neighbor on his spacious mansion and bounteous farm. The
former will, probably, turn off two paupers to one of the latter, and should
be assessed in a pauper rate-bill accordingly. And this argument from parental misconduct, against the justice of Free Schools, is of a piece with
the rest.
"It is with unfeigned regret that we approach the argument against Free
Schools, and, indeed, against Common Schools generally, which is based on
religion. In the eyes of the true statesman, convictions of religious duty are
of inestimable worth, and, even when mistaken, should be treated with all possible deference. Yet when we see the priesthoods by law established-and not
these alone-in one country after another in Europe, resisting the establishment of any system of popular education which is not based on the recognition of their respective dogmas, as the undoubted truth of God, we are
constrained to recognize and resist an assumption fatal to that universal diffusion of knowledge which is the chief pillar of republican freedom. Our
State neither affirms nor condemns the dogmas of any church or sect, but
commends each citizen, in matters of faith and worship, to the guidance of
his own conscience and of such spiritual instructors as his parents in infancy
and his own convictions in riper years shall designate. The Common School
is not above nor adverse to this, but simply aside from  it. It does not pretend to give religious (that is, dogmatic) instruction-far less to supersede
it. It simply requires the attention of every child, for thirty hours per week,




272                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
to intellectual culture, leaving the entire Sabbath, with Saturday, and the
greater portion of the residue, for such purely religious nurture as parents
may choose for their children. When the doors of the church and the Sabbath School are opened, the Common School is closed, and its inmates are
clearly qualified by its teachings for profiting by the Sabbath's appropriate
lessons. Why, then, should any church grudge the Common School those
thirty hours for secular instruction? What is it to gain by dividing and subdividing school districts in such a manner as to render any system of universal education impossible?  We entreat you, fellow-citizens, to resist the
appeal which is made to some of you on religious grounds to vote against
Free Schools. To vote us down will not really accomplish the ends of our
dogmatic adversaries, for Common Schools will still remain. The religious
objection, even if valid, is not relevant to the present issue, and ought not to
be interposed to affect it.
"We will not, fellow-citizens, urge upon you the priceless worth of education as an individual possession. Our opponents complain that we harp
on these blessings as if they had denied or belittled them. They, too, they
assure us, prize knowledge as highly as we do, and feel affronted when we
intimate the contrary. Let us, in closing, therefore, exhort you to remember
that fortune is capricious, and riches have wings, so that no man now in
active life can possibly secure his posterity against the chances and changes
of this mutable world. The broad domain inherited but a few years since
by the child of affluence, who little dreamed that poverty could ever sit by
his hearth, has already, it may be, passed into the hands of strangers, and the
late haughty possessor has hardly a shelter for his head. In the sight of
the whole community, some are daily mounting from obscurity to the dizziest heights of wealth, while others are falling from a like altitude into the
deepest gulf of penury and need.  No man can ensure affluence or even
competence to his descendants thirty years hence; but any one by his vote,
or his neglect to vote, may say that those descendants, and those who follow
them, shall, or shall not, enjoy that which no gold can purchase-no estimate
can equal-the blessing of an adequate FREE EDUCATION.  Let us entreat
you to esteem this not only worth voting for, but working for-to hold it
subordinate to no partisan, no personal, consideration-to work for such a
vote and such a majority as shall put the question at rest forever.  Do this,
and the canvass of 1850 shall long be remembered as that in which New
York proudly vindicated her pre-eminence as the Empire State, and relaid
the foundations of her freedom and greatness in the intelligence, the virtue,
the gratitude, and admiring affection of her children through all coming
time!"
The  campaign  having   thus  been  inaugurated,  an
animated  and  vigorous  contest  ensued, the  opponents
of the  law  insisting  upon  its unconditional repeal, and
the friends of Free Schools, while conceding to the full



FOURTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.                    273
est extent the imperfections in the details of the existing
law, insisting upon its retention upon the statute book
for the preservation of the principle involved, at the same
time  pledging  themselves  to  unite  with  its opponents
in  securing  such  amendments and modifications as public opinion  should  demand, and  the  best  interests  of
education require. The preliminary contest was mainly
confined to the rural districts of the State, most of the
cities and large towns having  already adopted the Free
School system, through special legislative enactments.
In  the  latter, however, and  especially  in  the  city  of
New  York, the  question  of religious and  sectarian  education  entered  as an  element into the canvass, as will
be  seen  by  the  following  appeal widely  circulated  by
Mr. MCMASTERS, the  editor  of  the  "Freeman's Journal,"  the leading  Roman  Catholic organ  in the city:
"HURRAH FOR REPEAL!-The Free School law, voted blindly at the
general election last fall, has been submitted anew by the Legislature to
the popular vote. Many thanks to the Legislature for the opportunity thus
offered us for making our step backward fiom the downward course of State
monopoly, State despotism, and State socialism into which recent legislative
movements have been hurrying us.   *       *      *      *      *
" The Free School law in question was intended to extend to the whole
State of New York the system of Free Schools, as they exist, for instance, in
this city. But it will, at least, give us hope that if the people of the State
shall be delivered from this odious act, the people of this city will soon follow
in demanding freedomfrown schools that are a moral nuisance, and have no kind
of claim upon the confidence of the public. In other words, we hope that the
attention awakened to the political juggling that has hoped to gain patronage by spreading Free Schools through the State will not be dulled till the
double-headed monster of the Public and Ward Schools in this city shall be abolished, and either the system of taxation for schools be abandoned, or the money
thus raised, and all other money appropriated to education, be equally and
fairly distributed among all schools of reputable character.
" This is our programme: To try and carry, at the election next fall, the
repeal of the law establishing Free Schools throughout the State; and tofollow
this up, as quickly as possible, by repealing the Free School laws of this city..
"To effect this good object, non-Catholics will adopt probably as many
methods as they have different motives for desiring it. We hope that most
18




274                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
Catholics will be ready to act with these opponents of the State Free Schools fervently and effectively. Just now we wish to say a few words about the special method that we desire to see Catho'ics pursuing by themselves, and apart
from other parties.
"Who does not know that the children of Catholics when they are mixed
up with Protestant children, in school and elsewhere, become, in a majority
of cases, worse and more thoroughly the children of hell than the others?
Well, let Catholic schools be well and thoroughly organized in our villages
and towns, and let these perishing Catholic children-who, when neglected,
can only be designated as infant rowdies and premature ruffians —-let these
children be submitted, for simply three months, to the discipline of Catholic
day-schools, under the eye of the Catholic clergy, and with their assiduous instruction, and an altered behavior, the moral reformation of these children
will be the talk of the whole town! Instead of saying that the town is disorderly, because it is crowded with'these wretched Catholic savages,' our
very enemies will say,'This Catholic religion is a strange thing; it really
seems, when practiced, to transform men, women, and children' They will
draw comparisons between the meek and quiet behavior of Catholic children
and the lawless freedom of those who frequent places of infidel education.
And with such proofs before their eyes, the American people are too intelligent and candid —-special bigots aside-to vote for the establishment of
godless Free Schools, to the detriment of Christian education. This is one
special way that Catholics might take to bring about the repeal of the Free
School law. If our Catholic population can be brought to think, as their
forefathers thought, that the great thing they have to do for their children is,
not to leave them rich, nor powerful in the affairs of the world, but to make
them good Catholics, honest, sober citizens, and faithful to their religion,
they will bring about the thing that we desire. They will toil harder, if
need be, or deny themselves of many innocent gratifications, or sacrifice their
desire for accumulating money, in favor of the higher, more pressing dutythis nobler aim-this devoted act of love and desire for the future well-being
of their children, and of the country where moral and social character is to
depend on the right or wrong education of youth.
" In no place, under no circumstances, is there any duty so urgently pressing
on our Catholic people as that of having schools subject to the clergy, and where
the earnest command of the SOVEREIGN PONTIFF, OUR HOLY FATHER, PIUS IX.,
may be carried out."
The views of the chief opponents of the law in the
rural districts and counties may be gathered from the
resolutions adopted at a convention of the citizens of
Chemung, Tompkins, and  Steuben, held at Jefferson, on
the 24th of August, the Hon. H. D. BARTO, of Trumansburgh, in  the  chair, and  J. L. DARLING, of Catharine




FOURTH  PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.                   275
secretary.  After strongly  censuring  the  Legislature  of
1849 for originally passing and submitting an act to the
people  not demanded  by  a single  petition, or  in  any
way by public sentiment, and not even such a division
of public opinion  existed  as to  afford  the shadow  of a
reason for such submission, and the Legislature of 1850
for its refusal to repeal the act when, in consequence
of its defective provisions, it could  not be put in  successful operation, and they were specifically petitioned
to do so, instead of attempting to amend or modify the
law, they proceed:
" Resolved, That it is not upon the details of the law that we base our opposition.  We stand up)on frst principles. We say that if the life of Free Schools
depends upon the taking of one man's property for the purpose of educating
another man's children, when that other person is abundantly able, and bound
by reason and humanity, to educate his own children, that they ought not to
exist by such support.   *    * *      *      *      *       *
" Resolved, That when the friends of this law themselves admit that, unamended, it is a bill of abominations, and when they call upon the people to
actually vote for the law, but, mentally, for some undefined abstraction, which
each one may conjure up for himself, according to his fancy, they are only
practicing upon the credulity of the people, and deserve the merited rebuke
which such conduct demands.
" Resolved, That a sound public sentiment upon the importance of education is far more desirable than any or all mere systems; and we look upon
the present unfortunate dissensions in regard to the school question as well
calculated to disgust a large portion of the people with the whole subject of
popular education.
"Resolved, That we are in favor of a simple and plain system of popular
education, oithout Normal Schools, teachers' institutes, district school journals,
supported by the State, or hordes of school officers-a system with full and ample
provision for the education of the poor, and in which public and private zeal
for education are in due proportions combined, but without presenting the
monstrous absurdity that the duty of education rests upon the property of the
State more than upon the parents and guardians of the children.
" Resolved, That all compulsory school establishments are as oppressive as
church establishments, and no reasoning, no arguments, can be offered in support of the former which are not equally applicable to the latter."
So  obnoxious, however, were  the main  features  as
well as the general principles of the law to the inhab



276           COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
itants of the rural sections of the State, that, at the
general election in November, an aggregate majority
of 46,874 was rolled up, in forty-two of the fifty-nine
counties, in favor of its unconditional repeal. In the
remaining seventeen counties, including the city and
county of New York, Albany, Rensselaer, Onondaga,
Erie, Dutchess, Schenectady, and Columbia, in which
Free Schools had already been established, or were on
the eve of establishment, and Montgomery, Seneca,
Ulster, Rockland, Queens, Warren, and Westchester,
where no such schools existed, the aggregate majority
against repeal amounted to 71,912; leaving a clear majority in favor of the FREE SCHOOL SYSTEM of upward of TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND. The majority against
repeal in the city of New York, alone, was 37,827, and
in Kings county, 10,000; only 987 votes having been
cast in its favor in the former, and 1,000 in the latter, county.
Among those who, by their exertions and influence,
contributed materially to the final establishment and
recognition of the FREE  SCHOOL PRINCIPLE, on this
occasion, we may be permitted, without disparagement to others equally energetic and efficient, diffused
throughout every section of the State, but less prominently identified with the movement, to  enumerate,
Governors WILLIAM H. SEWARD, HAMILTON FISH, and
WASHINGTON HUNT; Superintendents YOUNG, BENTON,
and MORGAN; JAMES W. BEEKMAN, HORACE GREELEY,
HENRY J. RAYMOND, JOSIAH HOLBROOK, and HENRY
NICOLL, of New  York; THOMAS LEGGETT, JR., of
Queens; FRANKLIN TUTHILL, of Suffolk; ANDREW W.
LEGGETT, and CALEB ROSCOE, of Westchester; ALEXANDER G. JOHNSON, H. B. HASWELL, JOHN O. COLE,
FRIANKLIN TOWNSEND, BRADFORD  R. WOOD, HENRY




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.   277
MANDEVILLE, FRIEND HUMPHREY, J. W. BULKLEY, and
WILLIAM F. PHELPS, of Albany; Maj.-Gen. JOHN E.
WOOL, GEORGE M. TIBBITTS, and Prof. BAERMAN, of
Rensselaer; JOHN BOWDISH, of Montgomery; HALSEY
R. WING, of Warren; WILLIAM  L. CRANDALL, editor
of the Free School Clarion; HARVEY BALDWIN, CHARLES
B. SEDGWICK, Hon. E. W. LEAVENWORTH, Rev. SAMUEL
J. MAY, E. W. CURTISS, and BENJAMIN COWLES, of
Onondaga; O. B. PIERCE, of Oneida; Dr. JOHN MILLER,
S. B. WOOLWORTH, LEWIS KINGSLEY, and HENRY S.
RANDALL, of Cortland; ALANSON HOLLY, of Wyoming;
W. S. HUBBELL, and DAVID MCMASTER, of Steuben;
CALEB LYON, of Lewis; Dr. H. D. DIDAMA, of Seneca;
SALEM TOWN, of Cayuga; JABEZ D. HAMMOND, of Otsego; President ELIPHALET NOTT, of Schenectady; O.
G. STEELE, VICTOR M. RICE, and Mr. STARR, of Erie;
SILAS M. BURROUGHS, of Orleans; ORNON ARCHER, of
Wayne; and CHARLES R. COBURN, of Tioga.  The
STATE TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION, the STATE MECHANICS'
MUTUAL PROTECTION SOCIETY, the ONONDAGA COUNTY
TEACHERS' INSTITUTE, and Conventions of TOWN SUPERINTENDENTS, and various other Local Associations and
Institutes, contributed essentially to the success of the
cause, and the final establishment of the PRINCIPLE
OF FREE SCHOOLS.
The pledges given by the triumphant party in the
contest, for the adoption of such amendments and
modifications of the law as, while securing its fundamental principle, should render its details and practical
administration more in accordance with the clearly
manifested will of that large portion of the State
which  its provisions  more  directly  affected, were
promptly  and  faithfully  redeemed.  The  Governor
(WASHINGTON HUNT), in  his first annual message to




278                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
the  Legislature, in  January, 1851, thus  adverted  to  the
subject:
"The operations of the act of 1849, establishing Free Schools, have not
produced all the beneficial effects, nor imparted the general satisfaction, anticipated by the friends of the measure. It has been the policy of our State,
from an early period, to promote the cause of popular education by liberal
and enlightened legislation. A munificent fund, created by a series of measures all aiming at the same great result, has been dedicated by the Constitution to the support of Common Schools, and the annual dividends from this
source will gradually increase. The duty of the State to provide such means
and facilities as will extend to all its children the blessings of education, and
especially to confer upon the poor and unfortunate a participation in the benefits of our Common Schools, in a principle which has been fully recognized
and long acted upon by the Legislature and the people.
"The vote of 1849, in favor of the Free School law, and the more recent
vote, by a reduced majority, against its repeal, ought, doubtless, to be regarded as a reaffirmation of this important principle, but not of the provisions of
the bill-leaving it incumbent upon the Legislature, in the exercise of a sound
discretion, to make such enactments as will accomplish the general design,
without injustice to any of our citizens. An essential change was made by
the law under consideration, in imposing the entire burthen of the schools
upon property, in the form of a tax, without reference to the direct benefits 
derived by the tax-payer. The provisions of the act for carrying this plan
into effect have produced oppressive inequalities and loud complaints. In
some districts, the discontent and strife attendant upon these evils have
disturbed the harmony of society. An earnest effort should be made to reconcile differences of opinion, to remedy the grievances arising from the imperfect operation of the law, and to equalize the weight of taxation, on such
principles of justice and equity as will ensure popular sanction. The success
of our schools must depend, in a great degree, upon the united counsels and
friendly co-operation of the people in each small community composing a
district; and nothing can be more injurious to the system of Common School
education than feuds and contentions among those who are responsible for
its healthful action and preservation.
" It cannot be doubted that all property estates, whether large or small,
will derive important advantages fiom the universal education of the people.
A well-considered system, which shall ensure, to the children of all, the blessings of moral and intellectual culture, will plant foundations broad and deep
for public and private virtue; and its effects will be seen in the diminution of
vice and crime, the more general practice of industry, sobriety, and integrity,
conservative and enlightened legislation, and universal obedience to the laws.
In such a community, the rights of property are stable, and the contributions
imposed on it are essentially lightened. But I entertain a firm conviction
that the present law requires a thorough revision, and that an entire change
in the mode of assessment is indispensable."




FOURTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.                     279
In  the  annual report of  the  Superintendent,  transmitted  to  the  Legislature  on  the  7th  of January, Mr.
MORGAN,  in  alluding  to  the  Free  School system, observes:
"'The history of the past year, in reference to this great enterprise, has
been one of mingled triumph and disaster. The principle incorporated in
the act for the establishment of Free Schools has been again subjected to the
test of public opinion. In their almost unanimous approval of that principle
in the canvass of 1849, the electors very generally overlooked the specific
details of the bill submitted to their sanction, confiding in the disposition of
the Legislature to modify such of its features as might be practically objectionable. Serious obstacles to the successful operation of the law presented
themselves, almost upon the threshold of its administration; and a spirit of
opposition was manifested at the primary district meetings which too often
resulted in the entire rejection of the estimates prepared by the trustees, and
the limitation of the term of school to the lowest possible period authorized
by law. Appeals were assiduously made to the cupidity of the heavy taxpayers-their interests sought to be arrayed against those of their less favored
brethren and their children-and their passions, stimulated by the real inequalities as well as fancied injustice of the burdens imposed by the new law,
were readily enlisted against every attempt to carry it into operation.
" By the re-submission of the law to the people, under the act of 1850, the
friends of Free Schools found themselves in a very embarrassing position.
They were compelled either to give their votes and influence in favor of the
continuance of a law, some of the distinctive features of which were at variance both with their wishes and their judgment, or, by sanctioning its repeal,
hazard the principle which had been deliberately adopted by the Legislature,
and approved by the emphatic expression of the public will. The issue thus
presented could not fail of being greatly misapprehended. While the electors
secured the renewed triumph of the principle involved, there can be no doubt
that thousands of votes were cast for the repeal of the lawt by citizens who desired
only its amendment, and who would have recorded their suffrages in favor of
a system of Free Schools, properly guarded, had the form of the ballot per.
mitted them to do so. It remains, then, for the Legislature to give efficacy
to this renewed expression of the popular will, by the enactment of a law
which shall definitely engraft the Free School principle upon our existing system
of primary education, and at the same time remove all just cause of complaint as
to the inequality of its burthens. District taxation has been found to be unjust,
unequal, and oppressive. It should, therefore, at once be abandoned, so far
as the ordinary support of the schools is concerned. The funds necessary for
the payment of teachers' wages, in addition to the amount received from the
State Treasury, should be provided either by a State tax, equitably levied on
real and personal property, according to a fixed and uniform valuation; by a
county and town tax, levied and assessed in the same manner; or by such a




280                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
combination of these modes as might be deemed most expedient and judicious.
" Should the Legislature deem it expedient to charge the annual support
of the schools, over and above the revenue of the school fund, upon the taxable
property of the State, and to retain the existing mode of distribution, the
necessity of devising some method by which the standard of valuation should
be, as nearly as practicable, uniform throughout the State, will be apparent.
If this can be accomplished, or if the distribution of the funds raised were
directed to be made upon the same basis with the apportionment of the tax,
there can be no doubt, in the judgment of the Superintendent, that a STATE
TAX for the support of our Common Schools will prove the simplest, most
efficient, and beneficial mode of providing for the object in view-the establishment and maintenance of a system of Free School education, in accordance with the expressed wishes of the inhabitants of the State.
" If, however, this were found impracticable, the same result may be obtained by requiring the board of supervisors of each county of the State to
raise twice the amount apportioned to each, as a county tax, and an equal
amount to that apportioned to each town, as a town tax. This provision
would simply increase the amount of school money, now by law required to
be raised, one-third, while it would entirely dispense with district taxation
for the current support of the schools. Inequalities in the standard of valuation adopted by the respective counties would, in this case, prove unjust and
burdensome to none, as the existing law has made complete provision for
the adjustment of such inequalities in the case of joint districts formed from
parts of two or more counties or towns. The whole amount of taxable property of each county would contribute, in equal and fair proportions, to the
support of the schools located in its territory; and the angry dissensions
growing out of district taxation-the fruitful source of nearly all the opposition which has been made to the existing law-would be averted.
"Such an arrangement would, it is believed, prove almost universally
acceptable to the people of the State. The principle involved has repeatedly received the sanction of public sentiment. It is in accordance with
the enlightened spirit of the age. It is the only system compatible with the
genius and spirit of our republican institutions. It is not a novelty now for
the first time sought to be engrafted upon our legislation, but a principle
recognized and carried into practical application in our sister State of Massachusetts from the earliest period of its colonial history-identified with her
greatness and prosperity, her influence and her wealth-and transplanted
from her soil to that of some of the younger States of the Union. In each of
our own cities, and in many of our larger villages, it has been established and
successfully sustained by the general approval of their citizens; and, wherever
it has obtained a foothold, it has never been abandoned. It is only requisite to
adjust the details of the system equitably and fairly to commend it to the
approbation of every good citizen as the noblest palladium and most effectual
support of our free institutions.  The existing law has excited a degree of
opposition which was not anticipated; but it is believed that it has grown




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    281
out of the defects of the law, rather than from any prevailing hostility to the
principle of Free Schools. No law can be successfully and prosperously administered under our government which does not receive the general approval
of the people.  It is the earnest desire, therefore, of the Superintendent that the
present law should be so amended as to produce greater equality, to remove all
reasonable ground of complaint, and to render our great system of education more
efficient and useful.
"The idea of UNIVERSAL EDUCATION is the grand central idea of the age.
Upon this broad and comprehensive basis, all the experience of the past, all
the crowding phenomena of the present, and all our hopes and aspirations
for the future must rest. Our forefathers have transmitted to us a noble inheritance of national intellectual, moral, and religious freedom. They have
confided our destiny as a people to our own hands. Upon our individual
and combined intelligence, virtue, and patriotism, rests the solution of the
great problem of self-government. We should be untrue to ourselves, untrue
to the cause of liberty, of civilization, and humanity, if we neglected the
assiduous cultivation of those means by which, alone, we can secure the realization of the hopes we have excited.  These means are the universal education
of our future citizens, without discrimination or distinction. Wherever in
our midst a human being exists with capacities and faculties to be developed,
improved, cultivated, and directed, the avenues of knowledge should be
freely opened, and every facility afforded to their unrestricted entrance. Ignorance should no more be countenanced than vice and crime.  The one
leads, almost inevitably, to the other. Banish ignorance, and in its stead
introduce  intelligence, science, knowledge, and  increasing wisdom  and
enlightenment, and you remove, in most cases, all those incentives to idleness, vice, and crime, which now produce such a frightful harvest of retribubution, misery, and wretchedness. Educate every child'to the top of his
faculties,' and you not only secure the community against the depredations
of the ignorant and the criminal, but you bestow upon it, instead, productive
artisans, good citizens, upright jurors and magistrates, enlightened statesmen, scientific discoverers and inventors, and the dispensers of a pervading
influence in favor of honesty, virtue, and true goodness. Educate every child
physically, morally, and intellectually, from  the age of four to twenty-one,
and your prisons, penitentiaries, and alms-houses will be converted into
schools of industry and temples of science, and the immense amounts now
contributed for their maintenance and support will be diverted into far
more profitable channels.
" These are some of the results which must follow in the train of a wisely
matured and judicious system  of universal education. They are not imaginary; but sober deductions from well-established facts-deliberate conclusions from established principles-sanctioned by the concurrent testimony of
experienced educators, and eminent statesmen and philanthropists. If facts
are required to illustrate the connection between ignorance and crime, let the
official return of convictions in the several criminal courts of the State for
the last ten years be examined, and their instructive lesson heeded.  Out of




282                   COMMTON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
nearly 28,000 persons convicted of crime, but 128 had enjoyed the benefits of a
good Common School education; 414 only had what the returning officers characterize as a'tolerable' education; and of the residue, about one-half only could
either read or write. Let similar statistics be gathered from the wretched in.
mates of our poor-house establishments, and similar results would, undoubtedly, be developed. Is it not, therefore, incomparably better, as a mere
prudential question of political economy, to provide ample means for the
education of the whole community, and to bring those means within the
reach of every child, than to impose a much larger tax for the protection of
that community against the depredations of the ignorant, the idle, and the
vicious, and for the support of the imbecile, the thoughtless, and the intemperate?
" Every consideration connected with the present and future welfare of
the community; every dictate of an enlightened humanity; every impulse of an
enlarged and comprehensive spirit of philanthropy-combine in favor of this
great principle. Public sentiment has declared in its favor. The new States
which, within the past few years, have been added to the Union have
adopted it as the basis of their system of public instruction: and the older
States, as one by one they are reconstructing their fundamental laws and
constitutions, are engrafting the same principle upon their institutions.
Shall New York in this noble enterprise of education retrace her steps?
Shall she disappoint the high hopes and expectations she has excited by
receding fiom the advanced position she now occupies in the van of educational improvement? Her past career, in all those elements which go to make
up the essential wealth and greatness of a people, has been one of progress
and uninterrupted expansion. Her far-seeing legislators and statesmen, uninfluenced by the scepticism of the timid, the ignorant, and the faithless, and
unawed by the denunciations of the hostile, prosecuted that great work of
internal improvement which will forever illustrate the pride and glory of her
political history. The rich results of the experiment thus boldly ventured
upon have vindicated their wisdom.  Is the development of the intellectual
and moral resources of her millions of future citizens an object of less interest-demanding a less devoted consecration of the energies of her peopleand worthy of a less firm and uncompromising perseverance? Disregarding
the feelings of the present hour, and looking only to the future, will the consciousness of having laid the foundations of the universal education of our
people be a less pleasing subject of contemplation than that of having aided
in replenishing the coffers of her wealth?
"In conclusion, the Superintendent cannot feel that he has fully met the
responsibility devolved upon him by his official relation to the schools of the
State, were he to fail in again urging upon the Legislature the definite adoption of this beneficent measure. Let its details be so adjusted as to bear
equally upon all-oppressively upon none.  Let every discordant element of
strife and passion be removed from the councils of the districts; let the
necessary assessment for the great object in view be diffused over the vast
aggregate of the wealth and property of the State.   Then let teachers




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.                 283
worthy of the name-teachers intellectually and morally qualified for the discharge of their high and responsible duties-dispense the benefits and blessings of education equally and impartially to the eight hundred thousand
children who annually congregate within the district school-room. The
children of the rich and the poor, the high and the low, the native and the
foreigner, will then participate alike in the inexhaustible treasures of intellect-will commence their career upon a footing of equality, under the fostering guardianship of the State. and gradually ripen into enlightened and
useful citizens, prepared for all the varied duties of life, and the full enjoyment of all the blessings incident to humanity."
The number of children in attendance in the schools
of the 11,397 districts of the State, during the year
1849, was  794,500;  exceeding  by  59,312  the  number
taught during the preceding year.   The total expenditure for school purposes was  $1,766,668.24;  of which
$839,845.98 was from  public  funds  received  from   the
State, and  raised by  tax on  the  several counties and
towns, in  accordance with  law;  $398,097.70 raised  by
district taxation, for the purchase of sites, building,
renting, repairing, and  insuring  school-houses, providing  the  necessary  fuel  and  apparatus, and  exempting   indigent  children  from   the  payment  of  teachers' wages;  and  $508,724.56 contributed  on  rate-bills.
The number of volumes in the several district libraries
had  increased  to  1,449,950, upward  of forty  thousand
volumes  having  been  added  during  the  year.   The
Superintendent earnestly  renewed  his  recommendation
for the  restoration  of  the  office  of  County  Superintendent, or the  establishment of an  assembly district
system of local supervision.
On the 6th  day  of February, Mr. T. H. BENEDICT,
of Westchester, from   the  majority  of  the  Assembly
Committee   on   Colleges,  Academies,  and   Common
Schools, to  whom  were  referred  the various petitions
and  memorials  for amendments  and  modifications  of
the act of 1849, submitted  an  elaborate and able  re



284            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
port, accompanied by a bill entitled "An Act to Establish FREE SCHOOLS throughout the State," declaring the
Common Schools FREE to every child between the ages
of five and twenty-one years; providing for the raising of an annual State tax of $800,000 for their support, in addition to the funds already provided by the
Constitution; and directing the levy, by the trustees,
of a poll or capitation tax on the inhabitants of each
district for whatever balance might remain due for
teachers' wages after the application of these funds.
Mr. BURROUGHS, of Orleans, from the minority of the
committee, reported a bill entitled "An Act in relation
to  Common  Schools,"  also  directing  the  sum   of
$800,000 to be annually levied by a State tax, but providing that one-fourth of its avails, together with onefourth of all other moneys applicable to the support of
Common Schools, should be equally divided among the
several school districts, and the  residue  apportioned
according to the number of children of suitable school
age residing in each-any balance remaining due to
be raised by rate-bill, in the manner heretofore provided  by  law, exempting  from  such  rate-bills, and
charging  upon  the  district, the tuition  of indigent
children.
After an animated discussion, of great interest, during several weeks, the bill as reported by Mr.  BURROUGHS, with its title changed to "AN ACT TO ESTABLISH  FREE  SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT  THE  STATE," and
providing for an equal division of ONE-THIRD, instead
of one-fourth, of the aggregate amount raised by taxation and accruing from  the Common School funds
among the several districts, passed the House by a
vote of 72 to 21, and was concurred in by the Senate,
on the 10th of April, by a vote of 22 to 4, receiving




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.                  285
the signature  of the Governor on  the  12th  of April,
1851.
Thus  ended  this  protracted  contest for the establishment of the  FREE  SCHOOL  PRINCIPLE, leaving  the
palm   of victory  substantially  with  its  advocates  and
champions, but retaining the rate-bill system, as the last
vestige of its predecessor, fated in its turn, at no distant day, to disappear with the rapidly advancing progress of public sentiment.
Pending this controversy, in February, 1850, a communication was addressed to the Superintendent by the
Rev. A. T. Young, of Warsaw, Wyoming  county, requesting  his interest in support of a petition forwarded
to  the Legislature, asking  an  exemption  from  taxation
under the  Free School Act of 1849, on the part of the
supporters  of  Parochial  Schools  connected  with  the
Presbyterian  congregation  of that  town, or  the grant
of a specific portion of public money to such schools.
This petition set forth that the congregation had established  "a  parochial school, to  be  instructed  by  such
teachers only as profess religion, with  the further regulation  that  the  precepts  and  doctrines  of  religion
should be incorporated into the system of daily instruction."  To  this communication  Mr. MORGAN  replied  as
follows:
"No individual can be more deeply impressed with a conviction of the
importance of a thorough Christian education than myself; and I have uniformly endeavored, in my official capacity as Superintendent of Common
Schools, to inculcate a strict regard, on the part of officers and teachers,
to this fundamental principle. No teacher, with my consent, either has been
or can be permitted to remain in charge of any school whose influence is
opposed to the Christian religion, or whose moral character and deportment
are inconsistent with its requirements. Taken as a class, I know no body of
our fellow-citizens, of equal numbers, more intelligent, virtuous, moral, and I
may add Christian, than the teachers of our Common Schools.
"When, however, you ask that the State, in the dispensation of its funds,




288                  CO{MMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
and requisition of its laws, shall discriminate between one religious denomination or class of Christians and others, and either exempt the former from
their share of the general burden borne by the rest of the community, or
bestow  upon them special privileges not accorded to other denominations,
you seek that which is utterly at variance with the whole tenor and spirit of
our republican institutions, and which, in the case of any other religious denomination, you would, I am  very sure, reprobate as unequal and unjust.
Shall the great body of the Roman Catholics in the State be exempted from
their general share of the tax for the support of public Free Schools, and the
money raised upon the residue of the taxable property of the State be paid
over to teachers employed by their respective churches, whose duty it shall
be to incorporate into their system of daily instruction the peculiar tenets of
their religious faith? Shall the same rule be applied to the numerous other
Christian churches without the pale of what you and those you represent
conceive to be evangelical religious truth? If not, what standard of Christianity shall the State, in its political capacity, recognize and adopt? Is it not
perfectly manifest to every unprejudiced mind that the State, as such, can make
no distinctions on the ground of religious belief-that its beneficence must be
equal and impartial-and that while it may legitimately exclude from the
institutions of learning under its control every species of immorality, licentiousness, profanity, or vice, it can neither require nor sanction-much less
speciallyoprovide for and encourage-the inculcation of the peculiar tenets
of any particular denomination of professing Christians?
" The great leading truths of Christianity-those which are common to all,
and based upon the universal consent of the great and good in every age and
every clime-those which may be deduced from  the simple and faithful
perusal of that inspired Volume which is the Great Charter of our faith, and
should be the guide of our lives-these religious doctrines, and these alone,
can be permitted to form a portion of the daily instruction of our Common
Schools; and I trust that the time may never come when these elementary
institutions shall be converted into seminaries for the inculcation and perpetuation of sectarian dogmas, of whatever church or creed.
"After this plain and free exposition of my views in regard to the subjectmatter of your correspondence, it will be unnecessary for me to add that I
cannot, consistently with my convictions of public duty, in any way co-operate
in the views and efforts of the petitioners for special and exclusive legislation
in their behalf. When a similar petition was prepared and strongly urged,
some eight years since, in behalf of the Roman Catholic religious denomination of the city of New York, the Legislature, upon mature consideration,
deemed it proper to deny the prayer of the petitioners, mainly upon the
grounds I have herein taken; and I am unable to perceive a.y difference in
principle in the petition then preferred and that in behalf of which you now
invoke my interest and influence. I am convinced that you, and those you
represent, fully concurred in the disposition of these petitions by the Legislature; and that both you and they are ready to recognize the binding efficacy
of the Divine injunction,'Whatsoever ye would that others should do to
you, do ye even so to them.' "




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    28T
Under special statutes, from  time to time enacted
during the preceding five years, Free Schools had been
established and were in successful operation in Auburn,
Brooklyn, Buffalo, Hudson, Lansingburgh, Lockport,
Newtown, the city of New York, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, Salem, Syracuse, Troy, Utica, and WVilliamsburghusually under the charge of boards of education, elected
by the people or appointed by the municipal authorities, with city or local superintendents.  In all the
cities and towns the schools were numerously attended,
and in the most flourishing condition. In the city of
Albany, the schools were also under the charge of a
board of education, but the rate-bill system  was still
preserved; and in the town of Bushwick, Kings county;
Cohoes, Albany county; Flushing, Queens county; Medina, Orleans  county;  Owego, Tioga  county;  and
Galen, Wayne  county —Union, or other incorporated
schools, were maintained under flourishing auspices.
On the 10th of July, 1851, the Assembly passed a
resolution authorizing the Governor to appoint a suitable person as a Commissioner, to embody in a single
act, and report to the Legislature at its next session,
a Common School Code for the State. Under this resolution, Gov. HUNT appointed SAMUEL S. RA-)DA-LL, of
Albany, as such Commissioner, who immediately entered upon the execution of the duty, and on the 1st
of January, 1852, transmitted his report to the Legislature.  The prominent changes in the existing system
recommended by the Commissioner were the following:
1. The separation of the office of State Superintendent of
Common Schools from that of Secretary of State, and its
erection into a separate and distinct department;/
2. The substitution of a permanent tax of one mill on
every dollar of the real and personal property of the State,
for the present State tax of $800,000; and




288                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
3. The  restoration, in  a  modified  form, of the office of
County Superintendent of Common Schools.
In  reference to  the second proposition, the  Commissioner observes:
" 1. The amount which each individual will be called upon to contribute
for the support and maintenance of the Common Schools isfixed and definite,
with reference to the valuation, by the town assessors, of his property. Under
the existing provision, the tax-payer, when called upon for his share of the
aggregate amount to be raised, has no means of knowing what proportion or
percentage of the whole he contributes; and such payment, mingled as it is
with other town, county, and State taxes, is incapable, without much difficulty, of being separated from them.
" 2. Such amount is so trifling and inconsiderable, when compared with
the importance of the object which it secures, that no individual will be
likely to object to its payment. For every thousand dollars of taxable property which he possesses he will be called upon annually to contribute one
dollar; and from this fund, in lieu of all other State, county, or town assessments, the schools of the twelve thousand districts of the State will be enabled to be kept open, without charge, during the entire year.
" 3. The proposed provision will be permanent and sey-adjusting. It will
increase with the increasing aggregate valuation of the taxable property of
the State, and be capable of meeting the increased educational demands of
the several school districts without the necessity of any additional legislation.
" 4. It will practically render our schools FREE, dispensing with the necessity of rate-bills, avoiding the odium of exemptions in the case of indigent
persons, and placing our entire system of Common Schools upon that high
and commanding basis which public sentiment has unequivocally indicated,
and the nearly unanimous opinion of every enlightened friend of education
long demanded and approved.
"That the property of the State should, under the legislative sanction and
direction, provide for the education of all its future citizens-to that extent,
at least, which shall prepare them, both intellectually and morally, for the
proper discharge of all the duties and responsibilities devolved upon them as
members of the commonwealth-is a proposition which, however it has been
controverted by arguments addressed to the sefish propensities of our nature,
every sound principle of legislation will be found to sustain.
"It is this principle which is sought to be fully and definitively engrafted
upon our own Common School system by the provision under considerationa principle which has received the sanction of the most eminent and revered
of our statesmen; the practical operations of which have been thoroughly
tested in our principal cities and villages; which has been repeatedly and
deliberately approved by a large majority of the electors of the State; once




FOURTH  PERIOD. -FREE  SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.                    2S9
and again recognized and sustained by the Legislature; and which now
requires for its permanent and practical adoption, as a fundamental principle
of our institutions, only such an appropriation as shall be fully adequate to
the maintenance of Free Schools during the whole of the period for which.
they may be kept open in the various school districts of the State.
"By the existing provisions of law, Common Schools are declared free to
every child between the ages of four and twenty-one, for such a length of
time in each of the districts as its distributive share of the eight hundred
thousand dollar State tax and the annual income of the Common School fund
will provide. When these funds are exhausted, the expenses of the schools
are to be provided for by a rate-bill against the parents and guardians of the
children, to be made out by the trustees, in proportion to the whole number
of days and of children sent by each, exempting wholly or in part, as they may
deem most expedient, indigent inhabitants; and also exempting from the
operation of the warrant on such rate-bill such property as was, prior to the
passage of the homestead exemption act, exempt from levy and sale on execution or civil process.
" The practical operation of these provisions will be comprehended by a
glance at a few statistics embraced in the annual report of the State Superintendent for the year 1851. From that document it appears the whole amount
expended in the several school districts of the State for the payment of
teachers' wages, and the purchase of school apparatus and books for the school
libraries, during the year embraced in the report, was $1,432,696.26; and
that the schools during that year were taught for an average period of eight
months in the respective districts by duly qualified teachers. One million
and a half of dollars, in round numbers, may, therefore, be safely assumed as
the mininmumn of the actual present cost of supporting schools throughout the
State for an average period of eight months in each year. Less than this
will not, it is presumed, at any future period, be required for this object; nor
will any one, probably, be found desirous of restricting the average term of
school to a less period than eight months. The whole amount now capable
of being realized from the funds provided by the State, under the existing
law for this purpose, is $1,100,000-a sum  barely sufficient, under the most
economical administration, to cover the expenses of the schools for an average
period of six months-leaving the residue of the time during which they are
kept in each year, to be provided for by the vexatious and annoying process
of rate-bills. The aggregate valuation of the real and personal property of
the State, as ascertained by the returns by the several assessors, under the new
and improved system now in force, is about $1,100,000,000; and it is quite
improbable that it will, at any future period, fall materially below this standard. A mill tax on this amount will yield the sum, in connection with the
school fund, of $1,400,000-an amount amply adequate, but no more than
adequate to the liberal support of the schools for an average period of ten
months during, each year-and if judiciously expended, capable, with the
means already at the disposal of many of them under local laws, of meeting
the entire wants of each separate school district throughout the State. As
19




290                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
the aggregate valuation of the property of the State increases, it is fairly to
be presumed the educational demands of the community will increase in an
equal proportion, and the funds thus provided will keep pace with this
increase without the necessity of additional legislation. Even should the
number of districts remain substantially the same, there will be a steady augmentation of the number of children annually to be brought within the
influence of the schools; and it may reasonably be expected that a higher
standard of qualification on the part of teachers will be demanded, involving
the necessity of a higher remuneration, and the permanent transference to
this most laborious, honorable, and useful profession, of a higher grade of
talent and ability.
" That a permanent provision of this kind would prove extensively beneficial in its effects upon the community at large, there can exist scarcely a
doubt. Such an expenditure would return back upon every interest of society
a vast and continually increasing amount of remuneration. It would constitute an investment infinitely more durable and profitable than any which the
calculating wisdom of the mere financier, however able or skillful could command, and regarded in a mere pecuniary point of view, would amply vindicate the prescience and the foresight of the Legislature, which should
authorize its adoption. In its political and moral effects, the wide and universal diffusion of knowledge, and the inculcation of virtuous principles and
habits which it would inevitably secure, could not fail of reacting, with a
most beneficent influence upon all our civil and social institutions."
The first of these propositions was carried into effect
by  the  Legislature  in  1854; the  third  (the restoration,
in a modified form, of the office of County Superintendent) two years later, in 1856; and the second, or full
recognition of the Free School principle, not until 1867.
The  annual report  of  the  Superintendent  for  the
year ending  on  the  31st of December, 1850, was submitted to the Legislature on the 7th of January, 1852.
The  year  embraced  in  the  report covered  nearly  the
entire period during which the  Free  School act of 1849
remained  in  operation-" a period  characterized,"  says
the  Superintendent, "beyond  any  other in  the history
of  our  Common  School system, by  the  agitation  and
excitement  of the  public  mind  consequent upon  this
measure; a period of transition between a system nearly
unanimously  adopted  by  the people, but which, in  its




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    291
practical operation, had proved in many respects eminently
disastrous, and a system apparently more in accordance
with the popular will.  *   *   *   The schools which
had, for a period of more than thirty years, been kept
open for an average term of eight months during each
year, were reduced in many instances to four, and the
provision for their support limited to the avails of the
public funds.  So strong and general was the current
of opposition, especially in the rural districts, to the obnoxious details of the law, that the most powerful efforts
were required, on the part of the friends of education generally, to prevent an entire abandonment of the great
principle involved in its enactment, and which, wholly
irrespective of the particular mode of its execution,
had received the clear assent and full approbation of
the people.  Pending a conflict so embittered and extensive, embracing within  its range nearly every district and neighborhood of the State, and affecting so
many and such powerful interests, it could scarcely have
been expected that the prosperity  and welfare of the
schools should not have been seriously and generally
affected.  A  careful inspection  of the  returns will,
however, show that while in some respects the statistical tables compare unfavorably with those of preceding
years, their general results demonstrate a steady, reliable
and gratifying improvement."
The number of children under instruction during the
year reported, in the 11,000 districts from  which returns were received-no reports having been made from
400 districts-was 800,430, of whom  nearly 200,000 had
been under instruction for a less period than two months.
In 105 Colored Schools, 5,305 pupils had been taught.
The number of volumes in the several district libraries
was 1,507,077, showing an increase during the year reported of 57,127 volumes.




292                    COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
The whole amount of public  money received and  expended  by the
several districts, during the year embraced in the reports of the trustees,
for the payment of teachers' wages, was..................    $782,469 29
Raised by district tax under the provisions of the act of
1849, for the same purpose.............................            385,836 53
Raised by rate-bills voluntarily levied.....................          136,949 54
Local funds applicable to the same purpose................              20,117 66
$1,325,373 02
In addition to this amount, the sum of....................               7,335 57
is reported as having been raised (voluntarily, it is presumed) to meet the expenses arising from the exemption
of 1,254 children from rate-bills, and as raised by district
tax to supply deficiencies in rate-bills made out previously to the act of 1849.................................              15,915 08
There were also paid for teachers' wages in colored schools,
over and above the public  money  applicable to  said
schools............................................                  1,925 25
Adding these two items, the total expenditure for teachers' -                -
wages during the year reported will amount to..........  $1,350,548 92
Amount of public money expended for district libraries....              89,104 96
Total amount for teachers' wages and libraries............   $1,439,653 88
The following additional sums were raised by district taxation for the purposes specified:
For purchasing school-house sites.........................             $58,855 91
For building school-houses...........................               125,913 36
For hiring school-houses..............................                   6,439 00
For repairing school-houses.............................                79,183 55
For insuring school-houses...............................      5,153 29
For   fuel...........................................        71,455   51
For book case, books and school apparatus............                  15,643 15
For other purposes.....................................                 82,520 51
Aggregate amount of expenditure for school purposes during 
the  year.........................  $1,884,818 16
In reference to the proposed revision and codification of
the School laws, the Superintendent says:
" By a resolution of the Assembly, of the 11th of July last, the Governor
was authorized to appoint a commissioner whose duty it should be to prepare
and report to the Legislature, at its ensuing session, an entire Common School
code, in one act. Under this authority, the appointment of commissioner
was conferred on SAMUEL S. RANDALL, late Deputy Superintendent of Common Schools, who proceeded at once to the discharge of the duty thus




FOURTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.                     293
devolved upon him, and whose report will be forwarded to the Legislature at
an early period of its session. Following, as this resolution of the Assembly
did, immediately upon the completion of a full consolidation and arrangement of the existing provisions of law in relation to Common Schools, under
the act of the last session, the commissioner deemed himself authorized to
incorporate in the new revision such amendments and modifications of the
system now in force as, in his best judgment, after full and free consultation
with the most enlightened and experienced friends of education throughout
the State, seemed desirable and necessary. The principal suggestions and recommendations made by him, in the discharge of this important and responsible duty, are fully in accordance with the views of the department; and
their adoption will, it is confidently believed, place our Common School system upon a permanent and satisfactory basis.  They are understood to embrace, as their leading and prominent objects, 1st. The separation of the
office of Superintendent of Common Schools from that of Secretary of State,
and its erection into a separate and distinct department; 2d. The substitution of a permanent annual State tax of one mill upon every dollar of the
aggregate real and personal property of the State, for the support of Common Schools, in lieu of the present tax of eight hundred thousand dollars;
and 3d. The restoration, in a modified form, and with suitable guards and
restriction, of the system of county supervision.
" The proposed substitution of a permanent annual State tax of one mill
upon every dollar of the real and personal property of the State, in lieu of
the existing tax of eight hundred thousand dollars for the support of Common Schools, commends itself to the judgment of the undersigned as a measure fraught with incalculable blessings to the cause of universal education.
If adopted and permanently engrafted upon our existing system of Common
Schools, its effect will be to carry out, in the most simple, efficacious and perfect manner, the will of the people, repeatedly and distinctly expressed, that
the property of the State shall provide for the elementary education of all its
future citizens, and that all our Common Schools shall be entirely free to
every child. This principle having been fully recognized and established,
after mature consideration and discussion, it is unnecessary now to re-open
the grounds upon which it was adopted, or to enter again upon the arguments which have so effectually demonstrated its soundness. The Legislature, at its last session, solemnly and definitely incorporated it as the basis of
their enactment of a law, making a liberal appropriation from the aggregate
property and funds of the State, for the maintenance and support of Common Schools. This appropriation, however, liberal and enlightened as it
was, and worthy of the vast resources and immense wealth of the State,
proves inadequate to the full accomplishment of the noble object in viewthe education of all the children of the State, during the whole period ordinarily devoted in each year to Common School instruction. An inconsiderable fraction of a mill upon each dollar of the increased valuation of real and
personal estate is all that is requisite, in addition to the provisions already
made, to secure the inestimable benefit of Free Schools, in all coming time, to




294                   COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
every child of the State. It would be utterly unworthy of the enlightened
forecast of the great majority of our fellow-citizens to suppose that they are
not prepared to make this slight additional sacrifice for the permanent
accomplishment of an object of such great importance. The present State
tax of $800,000, amounting as it did under the valuation in force at the period
of its adoption to considerably more than a mill upon each dollar, is insufficient, with the aid of the annual revenue of the Common School Fund, to
provide for the support of the schools of the State for an average period exceeding six months during each year. A permanent mill tax on the existing
valuation, capable of adjusting itself from  time to time to the fluctuating
valuation of the property of the State, and to the increasing wants of the
Schools, will, in conjunction with the public funds already applicable to that
object, provide liberally for the support of every school in the State during
the entire year.
" In opposition to these views it may probably be urged that the action
of the Legislature, at its last session, providing for an annual State tax of
$800,000 in addition to the annual revenue of the school fund for the support of Common Schools, and directing that any deficiency in this respect
should be supplied by rate-bill, should, under the circumstances, be regarded
as a final compromise between the views of the friends and opponents of
an entirely Free School system; that it is inexpedient and injudicious again
to throw open to legislative and popular discussion a subject upon which so
considerable a diversity of feeling and of opinion is known to exist; that the
very general acquiescence of the people in the present disposition of the matter is indicative of their satisfaction with the existing law, and that it is
unwise, at this early period, to disturb these arrangements so recently, and
with such great unanimity, adopted, especially in the absence of any experience of their practical workings, and of any general demand for their
alteration or modification. These objections are, unquestionably, entitled
to great weight; and unless they can be fairly overcome, the necessity or expediency of the proposed change must be regarded as doubtful.
" Under the peculiar circumstances attending its passage, the act of the
last session was, unquestionably, the best that could be obtained by the
friends of Free Schools. The only alternative presented was to return to the
system in force prior to 1849, involving a virtual abandonment of the principle for which the friends of universal education had so long struggled and
which had so repeatedly and signally triumphed. It will be recollected that
although a popular majority of more than twenty thousand votes had been
secured against the repeal of the act of 1849, forty seven of the fifty-nine
counties in the State had cast their votes nominally in favor of such repeal.
The representatives from those counties, constituting a large majority of
both branches of the Legislature, while fully aware that the popular expression of their respective constituencies adverse to the continuance of the law
in question, was not to be regarded as in opposition to the principle of Free
Schools, felt themselves bound by that expression to pursue a middle course,
between the entire rejection of that principle and its unlimited adoption,




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    295
Confident in the ultimate settlement of the question on a basis in accordance
with the dictates of public sentiment, and relying on the intrinsic justice and
soundness of the principle involved, the friends of Free Schools consented to
the adoption of the compromise proposed, without the slightest understanding on their part, or as it is believed on the part of those who favored and
brought forward the amendment, that it was to be a permanent disposition
of the subject. It was, on the other hand, regarded certainly by the former
as a temporary arrangement merely.
"If it be conceded that the public sentiment has unequivocally declared
itself in favor of the adoption of the Free School principle-and on this
point there cannot, in the judgment of the undersigned, be the slightest
room  to doubt-then any action of the Legislature, in contravention of or
falling short of that principle, cannot justly be regarded as final or conclusive.  However desirable it may be, under ordinary circumstances, to
avoid a re-agitation of questions once fairly settled by legislative action, and
especially where those questions affect an interest of such extent and importance as that under consideration, the will of the people, fairly and clearly
expressed, is entitled to be carried into full effect; and if for any reason their
representatives have failed to embody that will in their legislation, there can
be no such binding efficacy in a compromise measure at variance in any essential respect with the declared verdict of the popular voice, as to preclude
subsequent action at the earliest practicable period, in conformity with such
verdict. The act of the last session was clearly in contravention of the
popular will, repeatedly and distinctly expressed, so far as the provision for
meeting any portion of the expense of instruction in our Common Schools, by
rate-bill, was concerned; and although, after a long, animated and finally
successful struggle at the ballot boxes for the complete recognition of the
Free School system, the people were disposed, in view of the manifold difficulties attendant upon the full embodiment of that principle by the Legislature, to rest satisfied with the important step finally taken as the utmost
that could, at that period, be accomplished, it is manifest that their compulsory acquiescence in this respect cannot preclude them from insisting, at any
subsequent period, upon a complete and practical legislative recognition of
the right of every child in the State to free admission to the Common
Schools, during the period in which they may be open for instruction, untrammeled by any pecuniary restriction, however slight.
" There is another consideration connected with this subject, which cannot fail to address itself with great force to the statesmen and legislators of
our State. Either the Free School system is in accordance with the popular
will, or it is not. Either the principles upon which it is based are in conformity with the dictates of a sound and enlightened public policy, or they
are at irreconcilable variance with it. In either case, there should be no medium course between the full recognition and adoption of the system and its
practical incorporation as a portion of our institutions, and its rejection altogether and a return to the system as it previously existed. It is utterly incompatible with all sound principles of legislation to declare in one breath




296                   COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
that-' Common Schools throughout the State shall be free to every child between the ages of five and twenty-one years,' and in another to provide for
the compulsory imposition of a rate-bill for the expenses of a large portion of
such tuition.  It is eminently unworthy of the representatives of the Empire
State thus to'hold the word of promise to the ear, and break it to the hope.'
Nearly two hundred and fifty thousand of the citizens and legal voters of the
State, constituting a majority of one hundred and fifty thousand of all the
votes cast, declared, in 1849, their desire that the Common Schools of the
State should be entirely free; and notwithstanding the obvious and universally conceded defects of the law enacted to carry their wishes into effect,
they refused, in 1850, by a majority of more than twenty thousand votes, to
sanction its repeal, lest they should even seem to endanger the great principle they had so successfully vindicated and asserted.  Having thus, repeatedly and deliberately, placed themselves upon the record in this respect, they
confided in their representatives to remove all the objectionable features of
the law, without affecting its vital principle.  Had it been their desire to
restore, either wholly or in part, the old rate-bill system, it is reasonable to
suppose they would have proceeded directly to the accomplishment of their
object by a decisive vote in favor of the repeal of the act of 1849.  Their
vote tcgainst such repeal, in the face of unanswerable objections to the details
of that act, is beyond all question conclusive of their intention, at all hazards,
to preserve, unimpaired, the Free School principle:
" The proposition, therefore, to authorize a permanent mill tax on the
property of the State will, it is conceived, if adopted, effectually carry out
the wishes of the people and their declared will. The amount is too trifling
to be burdensome to any individual, while the object to be effected is one of
the utmost magnitude and importance.  Is there an individual in the State
who would not cheerfully pay an annual assessment of one mill upon every
dollar of his valuation, or one dollar upon every thousand, if thereby he could
secure the blessings of education, not only for his own children, but for every
child of suitable age in the State, for the entire term during which the
schools are kept open in each year, in all coming time? Is it not far better
that the entire expenses of tuition should be met in this manner by one
simple, definite, self-adjusting process, adapting itself to the varying standard
of property and valuation, and to the increasing wants of the schools, than
that the trustees of each of the eleven thousand districts should be periodically burdened with the trouble and parents with the expense of a vexatious
and harassing rate-bill?  I cannot hesitate, therefore, cordially and earnestly
to recommend the adoption of this measure as in my judgment best calculated
to render our Common Schools in reality and permanently what they now
are nominally, free; believing it to be due not only to the highest interests of
education, but to a proper respect to the clearly expressed will of a majority
of our fellow-citizens, that the noble enterprise, the foundations of which
have been so strongly laid in an enlightened public sentiment, should, without unnecessary delay, be prosecuted to a completion."
In conclusion, the Superintendent observes:




FOURTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.                     29' 
" In bringing his official labors to a close, and surrendering the administration of the department to other hands, the undersigned can only indulge
the hope that during the critical and stormy period in which the complicated
interests of public instruction have been committed to his guidance, some
advancement will be found to have been made in the right direction. On
assuming the responsible charge entrusted to his hands, two objects presented
themselves as, in his judgment, of sufficient importance to demand his individual attention and utmost efforts. The one was the preservation and perpetuation, in all its integrity, of our admirable system of district school
libraries, seriously endangered by what he deemed and still deems a most
injudicious provision of the existing law, authorizing, under certain conditions, an entire diversion of the munificent fund provided for the annual
replenishment of these institutions; and the other was the enterprise of
rendering every one of our eleven thousand schools free to every child of the
State of a suitable age to participate in their benefits. In the accomplishment of the first of these objects entire success has been obtained, by an
uncompromising refusal, in any case or under any circumstances, to give the
requisite sanction of the department to the application of any portion of the
library money to any other object than the purchase of books and scientific
apparatus for the use of schools. Many and strong temptations have from
time to time been presented for a departure from the strict and rigid rule
thus prescribed; and doubtless frequent and serious offense has been given
by the unyielding pertinacity with which it has been adhered to.  The
alternative, however, seemed to be presented, on the one hand, of a gradual
and ultimately entire abandonment of that far-seeing and enlightened policy
by which every school district and every neighborhood of the State was
annually supplied with the means of intellectual and moral cultivation, and
on the other, of a firm and decided refusal, in any case whatever, of that consent which the law required as a condition precedent to the diversion of the
fund. The importance of the principle involved in this determination may
have been. over-rated, and if so, the remedy is at hand and may easily be
applied.
"Our schools are not yet entirely free. Deeply as this is to be regretted,
there are ample and abundant sources of consolation in a review of the contest which has been waged for the adoption of this great measure. So far as
public opinion is concerned, the question may undoubtedly be regarded as
definitely settled. Reforms of this nature, when based upon sound reason
and enlightened policy, which underlie the principle of universal education
in a country such as ours, never go backward. The indisputable right of
every citizen of the American republic to such an education as shall enable
him worthily and properly to discharge the varied and responsible duties
incumbent upon him, as such, cannot long remain practically unrecognized
in our republican institutions. It has already incorporated itself in the system
of public instruction of several of our sister States; it has found its way into
the municipal regulations of all our cities and many of the most important
towns of our own State; and, above and beyond all, it has entwined itself




298                 COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM
into the deepest convictions and soundest regards of the great mass of the
people.  Its full assertion may be deferred, but cannot ultimately be repressed.
"In the vindication and maintenance of this principle, it has been my
fortune, during the whole of the brief period of my connection with the
department, to occupy a conspicuous position. As a necessary consequence
of this position, voluntarily assumed and firmly maintained, I have been content to endure and to confront a more than ordinary share of obloquy; and,
what was regarded by me as of infinitely greater consequence, to witness the
inevitable reaction upon the schools of the State of a protracted and embittered controversy. That controversy is even yet undetermined, and it may
require years to repair the breaches occasioned by its existence. But I have
the consolation of knowing that the part which I have taken in this controversy was the result of a firm and abiding conviction of public and private duty-of duty to the State, whose confidence had been reposed in me
as a public officer charged with the administration of a most responsible and
important trust-of duty to my fellow-citizens deeply interested in the satisfactory adjustment of a question which came directly home to the business
and the hearth of each one of them-and of duty to the eight hundred thousand children who annually throng the district school-houses of the State, to
obtain that education without which their future prospects of usefulness or
happiness were to be fatally blasted. Sustained and supported by these considerations, and by the active co-operation of many of the most enlightened
friends of education in every section of the State, my course of action was
plain; and, upon a careful and searching review of conduct and motive, I
find nothing to retract or regret, but my own inability more effectually to
realize the full convictions of my judgment and the most ardent wishes of my
heart in this respect. If I have, though feebly and imperfectly, contributed
in any essential degree to the ultimate triumph and full recognition of the
noble principle of UNIVERSAL EDUCATION, THROUGH SCHOOLS FREE TO ALLif, in part through my humble exertions, the future millions of children who
shall hereafter congregate in our elementary institutions of learning shall be
permitted freely to participate in the inestimable blessings of sound intellect
ual and moral instruction, without restriction or discrimination-my highest
earthly ambition will have been amply realized."




SECTION III.-ADMINISTRATION  OF SECRETARY HENRY  S.
RANDALL-I852 TO I854.
Character of the Secretary.-Message of Gov. Hunt.-Embarrassments in the Collection of the State Tax.-Proposed Mill Tax.
-Condition  of the Schools.-Superintendent's  Reports.-Academical Instruction.-New  York Free Academy.-Character of
Teachers. - Distribution  of  School Money. - Department  of
Public Instruction.-Compulsory Religious Observances in  Common Schools.  The 2uigley Case.-Decision of the Superintendent.-Election  of  Superintendent E.  W. Leavenworth.Separation of the Offce of Superintendent from  the Secretary's
Department. -Schools in the Cities of New  York, Brooklyn,
Bufalo, Rochester,  Utica,  Poughkeepsie,  Schenectady,  Troy,
Syracuse, Albany, Oswego and Auburn.
ON  the first day of January, 1852, the Hon. HENRY
S. RANDALL, of Cortland, who had been  elected
Secretary of State in November of the preceding year,
entered  upon  the administration of the Common School
department.   He was a man  of superior abilities fine
literary acquirements, energetic character, and, in his
official capacity  as County Superintendent of Cortland,
had rendered  signal service as  one of the ablest and
most devoted  and industrious of that class of officers.
His experience in this position, and his thorough practical knowledge of the system, had  eminently prepared
him  for the  enlightened  discharge of the  responsible
duties devolved upon him as the head of the department.
In 1843, he had been, as we have seen, specially designated  by Col. YOUNG  to  prepare an  official report on
the important subject of DISTRICT  LIBRARIES; and  so
ably  and  satisfactorily was  this  duty performed  that




300            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
the principles and language of the report were adopted
by the department as the basis upon which these libraries
were to be formed.  After the close of his official term
he devoted himself to agricultural pursuits, of which
he was very fond, and to literary authorship. As the
well-known biographer of THOMAS JEFFERSON, the great
author of the Declaration of Independence, and founder
of the democratic party, his name has long been associated with those of standard authority in this department of our national literature.  At the present time
he occupies the position, and discharges the duties, of
President of the Board of Trustees of the State Normal
School at Cortland, and representative in the State
Legislature from Cortland County.
HENRY W. JOHNSON, of New York, was appointed
Deputy State Superintendent.
Gov. HUNT, in his message at the opening of the
Legislature of 1852, stated the capital of the Common
School fund at six and a half million of dollars, of the
revenues of which nearly a million and a half had been
expended during the preceding year in the payment of
teachers' wages and the purchase of school libraries.
The number of pupils in attendance upon the several
Public Schools was 726,000. The Governor reviewed the
action of the Legislature and the people of the State
in reference to the effort to secure an entirely free
system of Common Schools, and characterized the enactment of the preceding session as a temporary compromise between the advanced views of the advocates of
Free Schools and the fears and prejudices of a majority
of the tax-payers and inhabitants of the rural districts,
long accustomed to the existing system and unwilling
to sanction its entire abandonment.  The progress of
public opinion, in his judgment, might safely be relied




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.                   301
upon to diffuse more liberal views of the relations of
the State to its future citizens.
From  the  annual report of the Superintendent, Jan.
1, 1853, it appeared that the number of pupils in attendance in the several Common Schools of the State during
the year 1851, was 8,765, and the amount of money expended  in  the  support of schools, $2,249,814, of which
about $1,000,000  was  derived  from   the  public  money,
and the residue collected by district tax and rate bills
-the latter amounting to about $225,000.   The sum  of
$477,918 was expended, during the year, in the purchase
of sites and in building, hiring, repairing, insuring and
furnishing  school houses, supplying  fuel, &c.
In  reference  to  the  State  tax  for  the  support  of
schools, the Superintendent says:
"In the school code reported to the Legislature during its last session by
the Commissioner, Mr. S. S. RANDALL, and in the last annual report of the
late Superintendent, it is proposed to substitute a mill tax for the present one.
This is virtually, and indeed avowedly, a proposition to restore Free Schools.
" A per centum tax, beyond all question, is more defensible in theory than
one of fixed amount; *   *   *   and that a mill tax cannot fairly be
considered an onerous burthen on property, for the great object of maintaining
popular education-for that protection which property itself derives from the
dissemination of intelligence through all classes of society-has been very
distinctly admitted by the opponents of Free Schools themselves, by their
assenting to the $800,000 tax. When imposed, it amounted to more than a
tenth of one per cent. on the assessed value of the property of the State.
" Not doubting, however, that the wants of an advancing population will
ultimately call for an increase of the State tax, and that when so increased it
would be better on all accounts to make it a per centum, and therefore a selfadjusting one, the undersigned feels constrained to express the opinion, that
the time has not arrived for such action. Nor is he disposed at present to
recommend any action which will affect the interior policy of the schools.
" In the rapid transition from system to system-in the constant change
of details made without the benefit of sufficient experiences-which has
marked the school legislation of the past four years, the natural result has
followed. Grave errors have been committed. To retrieve them, new errors
have been plunged into.  *  *   *  Melancholy as is the confession, and
decided as are the exceptions to it, our schools, in the opinion of the undersigned, have deteriorated during the rapid changes of the last four years.




302                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
Whether we have reached a point in these mutations where it is best to
pause and let existing regulations, where not obviously and seriously
wrong, stand until a further developed experience and a more settled
public sentiment shall call for well-considered changes, is the grave question
now to be settled. On it the views of the undersigned are already expressed."
The  Superintendent recommended  a modification  in
the  Academical system   of the State  by  which  each of
these institutions should be required to receive annually
from  the  Common  Schools within  its  district, and  gratuitously to educate, a specific number of pupils corresponding with its proportionate share of public money
received from  the State.  He observes:
"The Free Academy in the city of New York presents a practical exemplification of the plan thus proposed for the whole State. The undersigned
has, during the past season, visited this institution personally, examined its
records, investigated its plan of action in detail, and witnessed its operations.
To say that it is eminently successful in accomplishing the objects of its
foundation, is but faint praise of the men whose philanthropy originated and
whose energy secured that foundation, or of the able and efficient corps of
teachers who manage its conceins. Within its halls the marks of caste and
the distinction of wealth, elsewhere so pervading, are for once ignored. The
sons of the rich and the poor-neither of them degraded beneficiaries, but
the honored cadets of a parental government-meet on ground where neither
has vantage.  Sitting on the same benches; pursuing the same higher
branches of science; drinking from the same rich fountain of classic literature; cultivating the same elegant tastes and personal accomplishments; the
undersigned saw, with emotions he will not attempt to describe, the representatives of almost the extremes, and of every intermediate point, in social
and pecuniary condition; the sons of the merchant whose vessels visit every
ocean, and of the employees of his store-houses and his wharves; of fathers,
whose names are historic in the professions, in literature, in arts and in arms,
and of the obscure and toiling mass whose sinews support this social superstructure above them.
" The difference between such a foundation-where the best and brightest
youths of the country, irrespective of all other distinctions, are brought
together to be equally anointed and sandaled for the Olympic race of life
and manhood, and renown-to be put in a position where high heart and
bold endeavor will place the rewards of life equally within their reachmarks the development of a truly American idea, and is at once the symbol
and the commencement of a new phase in educational and social progress.
It is scarcely to be doubted that the great Metropolis, the pulsations of whose




FOURTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.                   303
philanthropy are only equaled by those of her business enterprises-whose
thoroughfares and suburbs are everywhere sprinkled with her magnificent
charities-will add to this class of her institutions, nor that she will ultimately perfect her system of free education by the establishment of a Free College
on a scale proportioned to the wants of her population."
In  reference  to  the  position  and  prospects  of  the
teachers of the State, the Superintendent says:
" Few estimate sufficiently the importance of teachers as a class or their
influence on society.  Nearly as much as parents, they mold the moral
character of the young; and their influence is probably even more felt in
developing the intellect and giving it direction throughout an extensive
portion of society. Ridicule of teachers constitutes one of the stale jokes of
literature; and its caricatures have not been without their influence on those
whose dictums have weight in assigning both literary and social position.
Prejudice against this occupation in our country is as unjust as it is impolitic. Where in the United States have teachers, as a class, been found behind
the moral or intellectual cultivation of the body of the community in which
they have been called upon to teach; nay, not in advance of it? How often
has even the breath of suspicion fallen on the moral character of one of the
twenty-five thousand Common School teachers of New York? Of their intellectual calibre, the bench, the bar, the sacred desk, the highest business and
official positions of our country, bear emphatic testimony.* For unremitting
industry in a laborious and physically-prostrating occupation, for a patient
braving of inconveniences and annoyances, which those unfamiliar with the
subject can hardly appreciate, for a zealous and high-toned devotion to the
duties of their calling, ample opportunities of observation have satisfied the
undersigned that no class of men excel the teachers of New York. And it is
notorious that none, when the extent of their duties and responsibilities are
taken into consideration, are so inadequately paid. Beyond a few cities and
large villages, the wages paid to teachers do not equal those of any class of
operatives whose occupations demand any previously acquired dexterity."
He also  recommends the  establishment of  an  additional Normal  School in  the  western  section  of the
State.
The report for the year 1854 shows that during the
year  1852 the  total  amount of  expenditure  for teach* The author of this work was informed by Gen. WINFIELD SCOTT, in 1851, that
every member of President MONROE'S cabinet, with one exception, commenced life as
a Common School teacher, including the names of JOHN C. CALHOUN, WILLIAM H.
CRAWFORD, SMITH THOMPSON, BENJAMIN W. CROWNINGSHIELD, and WILLIAM WIRT.




304                COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
ers' wages was $1,931,870.18; of which $1,273,426.49 was
from the avails of the State tax; $23,843.44 from local
funds; $308,851.30 collected on rate-bills, and the residue raised by district taxation.
The library  money  expended  during  the  year  was
$49,499.39; and the amount expended for school-houses,
sites, furniture, &c., and raised by district tax, $487,878.95
-amounting in all to $2,469,248.52-showing an increase
of over $20,000 from  the expenditures of the preceding
year.
The  Superintendent,  after recapitulating  his  views
as expressed in his report of the preceding year as to
the expediency of a change in the system of State taxation, by the substitution of a mill tax for the fixed sum
now imposed, goes on to say:
" The question now arises, has the proper period yet arrived for any material revision of our school laws? Have existing defects proved so serious as
to demand it? If so, has sufficient time been given for experience to add its
suggestions to those of sound theory, in indicating the appropriate remedies?
Have the fires of controversy so far died away as to permit that unanimity
of purpose and effort which are indispensable to success?
"On the whole, the undersigned is disposed to answer these questions affirmatively; to assume that the time has arrived when sound conservatism lies
in action. Existing defects, as will presently be shown, are deep-seated, and
are exerting widely pernicious influences.
" A mill tax on the property of the State was recommended last year as
the proper ultimate substitute for the present one. It was recommended by
a previous Superintendent, and it seems to be the rate of taxation for school
purposes generally fixed upon by the investigating friends of popular education as the one best calculated to do justice to all interests. Its adoption
would probably be accepted by all parties as afincad disposition of the subject.
"The distribution of the public school moneys in a manner to confer an
equal share of their benefits on localities and individuals has been found
attended with great difficulty. Prior to 1849, the proceeds of the school
fund, and an equal sum raised by the towns, were ultimately divided among
the towns on the basis of population, and among the school districts on the
basis of the pupils returned as residing in them. Such a distribution would
give to small districts in thinly populated regions, possessed of a limited
amount of wealth, a comparatively small amount of money, and would consequently lead to the imposition of more onerous rate-bills, which would fall




FOURTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.                     305
where there was the least ability to pay them. Yet this system was long
acquiesced in. Both the law and public sentiment recognized the cost of
education as mainly a personal burden which every man was required to
incur for his own offspring. Following out the same idea, it was not felt
that the Legislature had a right to attempt to equalize the burden of education, as between localities or individuals, by adopting any peculiar system
of distributing the public moneys specifically designed to attain that end,
but rather that it was bound to give every scholar his pro rata share of those
moneys, and leave parents to provide what was further necessary as best
they might.
" A different theory as to where rested the responsibility of educating the
people began to prevail. As ignorance is the parent of crime and civil disorder, it was claimed that a free government was bound to provide for its
own stability, and wealth to pay for its own security, by assuming the burden of popular education. It was insisted that after using the revenues set
apart for that purpose, the Common Schools of the State ought to be supported by a direct tax on property. This principle, to its fullest extent, was
engrafted into our laws in 1849. This wholly changed the theory on which
a proper distribution of the school moneys rested. If the property of the
State is required to support the education of the State, it follows that, the
benefit received from it being everywhere the same, its burdens should in
like manner be the same. And another important principle came into operation. When the State determined that education should be supported by
public contribution, it gave to every citizen a common and equal right to the
benefits accruing therefrom. The spirit and theory of the law was, not to aid
parents in educating their offspring, by dividing a particular sum of money
between them, but that the State should assume the whole expense of such education, and raise whatever sum was necessary therefor.  Every child was equally
entitled to an education, whether residing in the heart of the city of New
York, or on the hills of Hamilton county. But, wholly overlooking these
principles, the Free School Act of 1849 substantially retained the previously
existing plan of distribution to counties and towns on the basis of population-to school districts on that of enumerated pupils. Not only was the
cardinal theory of the law thus violated, but the unequal effects of such a
distribution, when applied to such increased sums of money, became vastly
more apparent than under the old law. In the densely populated districts of
cities and villages, the schools received more than was sufficient for their
support from the avails of the school fund and county and town taxes, while
in the thinly inhabited country districts, it was necessary to resort to additional and onerous taxes to make up deficiencies.
"Results so flagrantly unjust could not long be tolerated. The rural
regions, crushed by the operation of the law, through their representatives,
repealed it. The agricultural population of the State have ever shown that
they prize the blessings of universal education, and. are willing to make as
many sacrifices to secure it as the inhabitants of cities. They demonstrated
this by patiently paying more in proportion to their property than the latter
20




30G              COMMION SCHOOL SYSTEM.
to educate their children, for a period of more than fifty years anterior to
1849. It was the structure, and not the principle, of the Free School law of
1849 which gave to the popular vote on it so well defined a local classification. The country cordially united with the cities in passing the school act
of 1851, which was intended to recognize the same main principle, that the
property of the State shall educate the children of the State."
By the act of 1851, one-third of the public money
(excepting for libraries) was directed to be equally divided
among the several districts.   "This," says the Superintendent, "effectually relieved the country districts.
It is strenuously urged in  many  quarters  that it has
done  more  than this-that it has turned the scale in
the opposite direction, and  made the  burden  of supporting schools lighter, both to property and persons,
in the country than in the cities and villages."   Concurring  in this view  of the  subject, he suggests the
retention of the existing one-third equal quota distribution, but with the addition of another equal third on
the basis  of resident pupils  of the  several districts,
substantially  on the  same  principle  as already recognized by the Legislature in the organization of Union
School districts.
Mr. RANDALL  concurred  with  his  predecessor  in
strongly recommending the separation  of the office of
Superintendent of Common Schools from  that of Secretary of State.   "The  dignity and  importance  of a
school organization so extensive as ours," he remarked,
"alike demand that its  official head should be a separate and independent State officer, and the duties of
the position demand all the time and the best talents
that any one man can bring  to  them;"  and  he was
of opinion that such an officer might be able to dispense with the  necessity of a restoration  of the system  of County  Superintendency, which, in the present
state of public feeling toward that office, he deemed




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.               307
injudicious and unwise.  He recommended, at least, a
trial of the experiment before creating another class of
local school officers.
In October, 1853, a complaint was made to the Superintendent by the Rev. Dr. QUIGLEY, a Roman Catholic clergyman of Schagticoke, in  Rensselaer County,
setting  forth  that, in many of the Common  Schools of
that and the adjoining county of Washington, the religion  and  faith  of Catholic  children  were interfered
with, by being  compelled  to  join  in  prayers, and to
read and commit to  memory portions of a version of
the Bible  of which the Catholic Church  disapproved;
and stating  specifically that on a  certain  day in August preceding, a Miss Gifford, a teacher in Washington County, ordered one of her pupils, twelve years of
age, to study and read the Protestant Testament, and
on his declining to  do so, on the plea of his unwillingness to disobey the  orders  of his parents, and to
violate the precepts of his religion, chastised him severely, and expelled him  ignominiously from  the school.
Mr. RANDALL, in his decision, a copy of which was
communicated  to  the  Legislature with his annual report, after citing the opinion of Superintendent Dix,
concurred  in  by  Superintendent  SPENCER,  that  the
teacher may open his school by prayer, "provided he
does not encroach on the hours allotted to instruction,
and provided the attendance of the scholars is not exacted
as a matter of school discipline," goes on to say:
"No later or counter decisions are to be found on the records of this
office, and the above therefore must be regarded as the hitherto well-settled
rule in the premises, so far as the action of this department is concerned.
Believing it founded on principles of equity, and in that spirit of entire religious toleration which characterizes our Constitution and laws, and which
should characterize every institution, literary or other, founded by the State,
I have no disposition to disturb it, and should have no hesitation in apply



(08                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
ing and enforcing it in the case presented by the complainant, or in any
other brought before me on appeal.
"Beyond a mere dictum or opinion given by Superintendent Dix, in 1838,
on the abstract propriety of making the Bible a reading-book in the Common Schools, in which he expressed himself convinced of such propriety, I
find nothing bearing directly on this point in the orders and decisions of my
predecessors.  Opinions from some of them have been publicly referred to,
but if given they were not made matters of record in this office.*  Meanwhile
the question has, at various periods, seriously agitated portions of the community, and even the aid of legislation has been invoked to settle it. The
recent great increase and diffusion throughout the State of a Roman Catholic
population who, while they profess to make the Bible the guide of life,
wholly repudiate the common English version of it as unauthorized, and
who, on conscientious grounds, refuse to read it or permit their children to
read it, has thrown additional embarrassments in the way of any adjustment
of the dispute which will be satisfactory to all. Notwithstanding these difficulties, I feel, on this first presentation of the matter before me, that I am
bound to frankly and explicitly state my views, and the grounds on which I
should base my official action, should appeals involving the question be
brought before me.
"In theory, I have never been able to doubt that intellectual and religious
instruction should go hand in hand. To divorce them entirely, and to only
bestow attention on the former, is to draw forth and add to the powers of
the mind, without giving it any moral helm to guide it; in other words, it is
to increase the capacity without diminishing the propensity to do evil. To
banish religious education from the schools is, in a multitude of instances, to
consign it to the care of the vicious, the ignorant, the careless, or those who
feel that they have not time to attend to it. The placing of it in its natural
connection with intellectual education in the school-room has met, however, in our country with serious practical obstacles. The Government, not
relying on the ability or willingness of every part of the State to maintain
efficient schools for the education of the young by voluntary contributions,
and recognizing the imperative necessity of universal education for the maintenance of our civil and political institutions, organized a general Common
School system, and made provisions to aid those sending to school in sustaining it, by the payment of a large sum of money annually from the treasury. To prevent this money from being misapplied, it prescribed the conditions on which it shall be received and expended, the mode of appointing,
and the duties of all school officers, and it created a special State officer,
with administrative and judicial powers, to carry out and enforce the system.
The Common Schools were thus clearly made a government institution.  To
introduce into them, or permit to be introduced into them, a course of religious
instruction conformable to the views of any religious denomination, would be
* Similar opinions will be found, in a preceding page, to have been expressed by
Superintendent YOUNG.




FOURTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.                     309
tantamount to the adoption of a government religion-a step contrary to the
Constitution, and equally at variance with the policy of a free government
and the wishes of the people. To form for the schools a course of instruction which could bear the name of a religious one, and which would meet
the views of all was manifestly impossible. To give to every sect a pro rata
share of the school moneys, to enable it to support its own schools, and
teach its own system of religious faith in them, would be, in the sparsely
inhabited country districts, to divide the children within the territory convenient for attendance on a single school, and in which the support of all
the inhabitants is frequently scarcely adequate, with the aid of the public
moneys, to sustain a single efficient school, into a dozen or more schools.
Indeed, under this arrangement a single indigent family would often be
required to support its own school, to go without any, or to violate its
conscience by joining with others in one in which a religious system was
taught wholly at variance with its own. There are other reasons, not requiring enumeration, which have gone to convince the public mind of the impracticability of carrying out such a plan so as to attain the object sought, the
education of all the people.
" In view of the above facts, the position was early, distinctly, and almost universally taken by our statesmen, legislators and prominent friends
of education-men of the warmest religious zeal, and belonging to every
sect-that religious education must be banished from the Common Schools
and consigned to the family and the church. If felt that this was an evil,
it was felt that it was the least one of which the circumstances admitted.
Accordingly, the instruction in our schools has been limited to that ordinarily included under the head of intellectual culture, and to the propagation
of those principles of morality in which all sects, and good men belonging
to no sect, can equally agree. The tender consciences of all have been respected. We have seen that even prayer-that morning and evening duty
which man owes to his Creator-which even the pagan and savage do not
withhold from the gods of their blinded devotion-which, conducted in any
proper spirit, is no more sectarian than that homage which constantly goes
up from all nature, animate and inanimate, to the bountiful Giver of all
things-has been decided by two of our most eminent superintendents as
inadmissible as a school exercise within school hours, and that no pupil's
conscience or inclination shall be violated by being compelled to listen to it.
This decision has been acquiesced in without a murmur by the whole religious public. The intelligent religious public have felt that there was no
tenable middle ground between thorough religious instruction in our Common Schools and the broadest toleration.  Driven by circumstances to adopt
the latter position they have embraced it in its most comprehensive import,
and have nerved themselves to the task of supplying a lamentable omission
in the Public Schools, by increased assiduity to the spiritual wants of their
offspring in the family circle, in the Sunday School, and in the church. In
our crowded cities, where poverty sinks to its lowest ebb, and vice puts on
its most unmitigated forms-where multitudes of children would receive no




310                COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
religious instruction from or through the instrumentality of their parents,
voluntary church and individual organizations are putting forth their endeavors to supply such instruction. Many, doubtless, are not reached by
these efforts; nor would they be reached if religion was taught in the Common Schools-for the children of the extremely poor and the vicious oftentimes could not or would not attend them.
" Not only has the principle of entire religious toleration in our schools
been acquiesced in between the leading Protestant sects who regard each
other as orthodox in the cardinal doctrines of Christianity, but between
such and those pronounced by them to be utterly heretical. Not only have
the Episcopalian, the Presbyterian, the Baptist and the Methodist met on
common neutral ground in the school room, but with them the Unitarian,
the Universalist, the Quaker, and even the denier of all creeds. No offensive
school exercise or discipline has been made compulsory on any of theseno obnoxious tests forced upon them. Shall a solitary and invidious exception then be made against a church professing to be governed by the principles of Christianity, and which includes within its fold a large number of
citizens whom our laws place on the same footing with all other citizens? I
cannot subscribe to such doctrines.
" I believe that the Holy Scriptures, and especially the portion of them
known as the New Testament, are proper to be read in schools by pupils
who have attained sufficient literary and mental culture to understand their
import. I believe they may, as a matter of right, be read as a class book by
those whose parents desire it. But I am clearly of the opinion that the
reading of no version of them can be forced on those whose consciences and
religion object to such version."
The public confidence in the  integrity and ability of
the  Superintendent was signally  manifested, during his
entire  administration, by  the omission  of the  Legislature  to  provide  for  the   receipt  and   disbursement,
through  the usual channel of the State Treasury, of the
avails of the State tax of $800,000, with the corresponding  amounts required  by  the act of 1851 to  be raised
and  paid  over by the several  counties.  Although  not
required, in  his official capacity, to  execute  any bonds
for the  safe  keeping  and  proper expenditure  of  any
portion of the public  money,  millions  of dollars were
thus paid  over to and  disbursed by him, and although
repeatedly soliciting at the hands of the Legislature,
and its financial and educational committees, the ex.



FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    311
amination and revision of his accounts, no investigation
was ever called for or made.  In one instance, the
quota of the largest and wealthiest county of the State
-the city of New York-was neglected to be raised
and forwarded in season for the annual apportionment
and payment of the public money, rendering it indispensable for him to advance on his own personal responsibility the amount thus withheld. This anomalous state
of things continued until after the expiration of the
first year of his successor in office.
At the annual election in November, 1853, the Hon.
ELIAS W. LEAVENWORTH  of Onondaga, was elected
Secretary of State, and ex-officio Superintendent of Common Schools.  S. S. RANDALL was again  appointed
Deputy. Gov. SEYMOUR, in his message to the Legislature of 1854, strongly  recommended  the separate
organization of a Department of Public Instruction. A
bill for that purpose was accordingly introduced early
in the session by the Hon. WILLIAM H. ROBERTSON of
Westchester,  Chairman  of  the  Literature  Committee of the Senate, and chiefly through his influence
became a  law  in  March  ensuing.  This important
measure was warmly supported by Secretary LEAVENWORTH, chiefly upon the ground of the incompatibility
of the duties pertaining to the office of Superintendent
with those required of the Secretary of State, who, in
addition to his strictly legitimate duties as such, had
under various provisions of the law been made a member of the Canal Board, of the Board of Commissioners
of the Canal Fund, and of the Land Office, a Trustee
of the State Library, of the Capitol and of the State
Hall, an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee
of the State Normal School, and a Regent of the University, in addition to his burdensome duties as Super



312            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
intendent of Common Schools. Public policy as well as
public justice imperatively demanded the separation of
these offices and the organization of an independent
Department of Public  Instruction,  and  this  policy
finally prevailed.
In the city of New York the Public School System
had been entirely reorganized. The rapid progress of the
Ward Schools, established under the act of 1842, the organization of the Free Academy in 1848, and the financial embarrassments of the Public School Society consequent upon their diminished  resources, conduced in
1852 to the opening of negotiations between the representatives of the two rival systems for their consolidation. The terms finally agreed upon by the contracting
parties were, 1st, the transfer by the Public School
Society   to the city of all their.buildings and property,
subject to all existing incumbrances thereon, and the
discontinuance of its organization and schools; and, 2d,
the  appointment of fifteen of the trustees  of the
society, to be designated by themselves, as members
of the Board of Education, and of three trustees in
each  ward, to serve for the  term  of three years,
respectively.  This arrangement was confirmed by the
Legislature in an act passed on the 3d of June, 1853,
and went into full operation during the ensuing year.
EIRASTUS C. BENEDICT waS elected President of the new
Board of Education; and S. S. RANDALL, City Superintendent, with Joseph  ecKean and Samuel W. Seton,
Assistants.  At the period of the consolidation there
were eighteen schools of the Public School Society,
with as many female and primary departments, while
those of  the ward  schools  numbered  twenty-eight.
When combined, under the new system, they consisted
of the Free Academy, three Normal Schools, forty-six




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    313
large schools, with each a male, female, and primary
department, fifty-six  separate  primary schools, nine
colored schools, and ten corporate schools-making in
all 224 schools, under the jurisdiction of the Board
of Education, with an aggregate annual attendance of
nearly forty-four thousand pupils, educated, and supplied with all the necessary text-books, apparatus, and
stationery, chiefly at the expense of the city. The
property of the Public School Society, transferred to
the city for educational purposes, was estimated at
half a million of dollars over and above all incumbrances.
We cannot take leave of this Society, which had
thus for nearly half a century assumed the charge of
the free education of the children of the city, the
members of which, consisting of men of the highest
character and standing in the community, had for that
long period gratuitously devoted their time and services to the promotion and advancement of popular
education, without the tribute of our highest regard
and esteem for their disinterested exertions, and the
incalculable amount of good which their untiring zeal
and devotion were enabled to accomplish in behalf of
the rising generation.  Millions of dollars of the public money had passed through their hands, not one
dollar of which had, in any instance, been diverted
from its legitimate object; and not less than 600,000
children had been instructed, and over one thousand
teachers prepared for their responsible duties, under
their  kindly  and  genial supervision.   Among  the
prominent members of this organization, "whose names
posterity will not willingly let die," were DB  WITT
CLINTON, LEONARD BLEECKER, LINDLEY MURRAY, HENRY RUTGERS, JOSEPH  GRINNELL, ROBERT C. CORNELL,




314           COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
STEPHEN ALLEN, SAMUEL L. MITCHELL, GEORGE  T.
TRIMBLE, PETER COOPER, JAMES B. BRINSMADE, JAMES
J. ROOSEVELT, JR., JOSEPH CURTIS, SAMUEL WOOD, SAMUEL W. SETON, JOHN MURRAY, JR., WILLIAM HIBBARD,
JACOB LORILLARD, CHARLES E. PIERSON, JAMES F. DE
PEYSTER, FREDERICK DE PEYSTER, BENJAMIN R. WINTHROP, JOHN DAVENPORT, WILLIA1M H. NEILSON, THOMAS B. STILLMAN, ISAAC COLLINS, JOSEPH B. COLLINS,
LINUS W. STEVENS, ISRAEL RUSSELL, HIRAM KETCHUM,
PETER AUGUSTUS JAY, SAMIUEL DEMILT, ROE LOCKWOOD, MAHLON DAY, JEREMIAH II. VAN RENSSELAER,
MYNDERT VAN SCHAICK, MARINUS WILLETT, ABRAHAMi V.
WILLIAMS, JOHN DE LAMATER, THEODORE DWIGHT, JR.,
CALEB 0. HALSTED, JOHN B. HALSTED, OLIVER HIALSTED,
WILLIS HALL, JOSEPH HOXIE, HENRY E. DAVIES, SHEPARD KNAPP, ABRAHAM R. LAWRENCE, ANSON G. PHELPS,
PELATIAH PERIT, DANIEL F. TIEMAN, GULIAN C. VERPLANCK, and JOSEPH B. VARNUM.  DE WITT CLINTON
was the first President of the Society, and continued
to occupy that position until his death, in 1828-a
period of nearly a quarter of a century. He was succeeded by PETER AUGUSTUS JAY, who remained in office
about ten years. ROBERT C. CORNELL was elected his
successor, and, after his death, in 1845, GEORGE T.
TRIMBLE filled the post, to the general acceptation of
the public, until the dissolution of the Society, in 1853.
Mr. TRIMBLE had, since 1820, been treasurer of the
Board, and, in conjunction with SAMUEL W. SETON,
who was appointed its agent in 1827, had exercised a
constant and vigilant supervision over the Public Schools
and the interests of the organization.  Mr. SETON,
after nearly fifty years' continued and efficient service
as a school officer, died in November, 1869, at the
advanced age of eighty-two years, occupying at the




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    315
time of his death the position of Assistant Superintendent of Schools, which he had held since the organization of the Board of Education, in 1854.  From
1844 to 1850, the  venerable  JOSIAH  HOLBROOK, the
founder of the lyceum  system  in Massachusetts, exerted a highly favorable influence oyer the schools by
his lectures and practical instructions in map drawing,
mineralogy, and elementary geology, and the promotion of a system  of interchange of specimens of minerals, maps, drawings, penmanship, &c., between  the
schools of the city and those of the State, and other
States and countries.  This method of domestic and
international exchange was encouraged and supported
by the highest officers of the several States and the
General Government, and by the principal representatives of foreign powers.  Mr. HOLBROOK died in Virginia. in 1851, while engaged in the active prosecution
of his benevolent labors.
In 1837, an act of the Legislature was passed creating
the office of City Superintendent of Common Schools for
the city of BUFFALO.  Under this act, R. W. Haskins,
Esq., temporarily  occupied that position  for a few
months. and was succeeded, early in the ensuing year, by
0. G. STEELE, Esq.  To this public-spirited gentleman,
more than to any other individual, were the citizens
of Buffalo, at this early period, indebted for their excellent system  of Public Schools, and for the first
special city organization since that of the city of New
York.  In May, 1838, an act was passed dividing the
city into fifteen permanent school districts, in all of
which  schools were established, and several spacious
and  convenient buildings, chiefly  of brick, erected.
These schools were placed in charge of the Common
Council, who, under an amendatory act, passed in 1839,




316              COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
in accordance with the views of a public meeting of
the citizens, presided  over by the Hon. ALBERT H.
TRACY, were empowered to purchase sites, and erect,
improve, enlarge, and repair school-houses, and to furnish them with suitable apparatus, books, furniture, and
appendages; to appoint a City Superintendent, employ
teachers, and raise, by tax upon the real and personal
property of the respective districts, the necessary sums
for defraying all these expenditures, thereby rendering
the system  entirely  free.  The number of children
taught in the several schools thus organized rapidly
increased  from  679 in 1837 to 4,450 in 1840, at an
aggregate cost of $8,875.30, of which $1,585.18 only was
contributed by the State, and the remaining $7,291.12
raised by city taxations  The schools were in session
during the entire year, the prevailing method of instruction was monitorial, and the annual salaries of the
male teachers ranged from  $500 to $750.  Mr. Steele
was succeeded by S. CALDWELL, Esq., who, in 1843,
reported the attendance upon the several schools at
5,573, and  the  expense  of  their  maintenance  at
$20,437.16, with libraries numbering more than  three
thousand volumes.  In 1845, Mr. STEELE  was re-appointed; and in 1846 a third department was established
for the advanced education of the pupils of the several public schools, which, in 1853, under the superintendency of VICTOR M. RICE, was converted  into  a
Central High School. At the annual State election of
1849, when the question of Free Schools was submitted
to  the people, three votes only were cast in the city
in the negative. In 1862, the number of Public Schools
had increased to thirty-four, and 218 teachers, 190 of
whom  were females, with 15,836 pupils, and the cost
of their maintenance to $88,598.67.  The number of
volumes in the several district libraries was 11,292.




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.             317
The city of ROCHESTER was the next to establish a
system of Free Public Schools. Under the provisions of
an act passed in 1841, a Board of Education was organized, on the 15th of June of that year, consisting of two
commissioners from  each of the city wards, with power
to appoint a City Superintendent, and  provide all requisite  facilities  for  school purposes, defraying  the
expense by city taxation.  On the 5th of July, ISAAC
F. MACK, Esq., was appointed Superintendent —"a man
of graceful and  winning  manners, possessing  much
knowledge of men and things, varied accomplishments,
and exceedingly popular withal, although he really cknew
but little of schools or school systems." *  The number of
pupils in attendance upon the  several schools in 1842
was 3,454, increased  in 1843 to 4,246, and  in  1845 to
5,000;  the number of volumes in the libraries, 5,000.
In  1848, D. HOLBROOK, Esq., was appointed  City Superintendent, who, whatever other qualifications he may
have possessed, clearly was not destitute-judging from
his report of 1862, referred to below-either of energy,
executive ability, or self-appreciation.  The amendatory
act of 1850, still in  force, was drawn  up  under his
supervision.   In  1857,  a  Central  High  School was
established, which in 1862, under the direction of the
Regents of the University, was converted into a Free
Academy, and  incorporated  with  the  city  system  of
public instruction, with about two hundred pupils. At
this time, there were, in addition to this institution,
ten grammar, sixteen intermediate, and sixteen primary
schools  in  the  city, with  107 teachers, 93  of whom
* Report of City Superintendent Holbrook to State Superintendent-Ninth Annual Report Sup't Pub. Instruction, 1863. Mr. Holbrook, however, confesses that on
his retirement, after five years' service, " the endeavor to fill his place met with but
indifferent success."




318S            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
were  females, and  8,552  children  under instruction.
The number of volumes in the several district libraries was 7,709.
As late as 1839, the Public Schools of the city of
HUDSON were under the charge of the Lancaster School
Society, to whom the public ffioney, amounting in that
year to $1,134.48, was paid over. Of the 1,192 children
of suitable school age residing in the city, 590 only
were taught in these schools.  The act of 1841, as
amended in 1843 and 1844, constituted the members of
the Common Council of the city ex-officio Commissioners of Common  Schools, with power to form  school
districts, purchase  sites, build, repair, and  furnish
school-houses, and supply them  with books and apparatus, and appoint three superintendents, who should
constitute a board of general and special supervision,
with power to  contract for and superintend the erection, repair, and  furnishing  of school buildings; to
employ, pay, and remove teachers, prescribe text-books,
make out rate-bills, &c.  Four times the amount of
public money apportioned to the city from  the State
was directed to be annually raised and paid  over to
the  Board  of  Superintendents, for the  support of
schools.  In 1844, there were three schools, each containing from  150 to 200 pupils.  In 1862, there were
four schools, each with an average attendance of about
300 pupils, and  an  annual expenditure of $7,000, of
which $3,000 was raised by tax.  The number of volumes in the district libraries was 1,250.
In POUGHKEEPSIE also, as late as 1839, the whole
amount of public money apportioned to  the  village,
amounting to $1,315.23, was paid over to the trustees
of the Lancaster School, for the instruction  of 550,
out of 1,778, children of suitable school age residing




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    319
in the district.  In 1843, an act was obtained for the
organization of a Board of Education, and the establishment of a system  of Free Schools. Three flourishing schools, properly graded, were opened, with about
600 pupils, at a cost of $4,400, $3,000 of which was
raised by tax. In 1862, ten schools were in successful
operation, with 4 male and  34 female teachers, and
2,500 pupils, at an aggregate  cost of $10,916.63, of
which one-half was raised by city taxation.  The number of volumes in the district libraries was 11,292.
In the city of SCHENECTADY, the public money apportioned by the State, amounting in 1839 to $1,396.88,
was also paid over to the Lancaster School Society,
for the instruction of 360 pupils, out of over 1,000
residing in the city.  This was subsequently converted into a Union School District, embracing, in 1862,
eight public schools, with 4 male and 26 female teachers, and 1,932 pupils, sustained at an expenditure of
$11,448.92, of which $6,789.44 was contributed by city
taxation; and with libraries containing 3,000 volumes.
In the city of ALBANY, the Public Schools were in
charge of a Board of nine Commissioners, appointed by
the Mayor and Recorder of the city and the resident
Regents of the University.  There were, in 1862, 17
schools, with 100 teachers, 82 of whom  were females,
and 9,614 pupils. The sum of $71,439.07 was expended
for the support of these schools, $34,000 of which was
raised by city taxation.  The number of volumes in
the several district libraries was 5,750.
The Public Schools in the city of BROOKLYN were
organized under an act passed in 1850, authorizing the
Common Council of the city to appoint a Board of
Education, consisting of thirty-three persons, one for
each school district, holding office respectively for three




320            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
years, and who were required annually to elect a City
Superintendent, who is ex-oficio Secretary of the Board.
The first Superintendent was SAMUEL L. HOLMES, Esq.,
who was succeeded temporarily in 1853 by S. S. RANDALL, in 1854 by J. R. GIDDINGS, and in 1856 by the
present incumbent, J. W. BULKLEY, Esq. In 1854, the
cities of Brooklyn and Williamsburgh and the town of
Bushwick were consolidated, increasing the Board of
Education to forty-five members. At this time Brooklyn had sixteen large schools, with 174 teachers, and
11,500 pupils, besides two evening  schools, with 17
teachers, and 1,000 pupils; Williamsburgh, with a Board
of Education consisting of eighteen members, one-half
of whom were trustees and one-half commissioners, had
eleven schools, with 100 teachers, and 787 children; an
evening school, with 700 pupils, taught by eight teachers; and a Saturday Normal School, of 113 teachers;
and Bushwick, with three schools, had 16 teachers, and
about a thousand pupils. The new organization, therefore, comprised 32 large schools, over 300 teachers, and
18,337 pupils, exclusive of about 2,000 in the evening
schools.
In 1848, a City Superintendent of Common Schools
was authorized to be elected for the City of OSWEGO,
who should possess the powers and perform  the duties
imposed  upon  Town  Superintendents.  In 1853, a
Board of Education, with the usual powers, was established.
In AUBURN, a similar Board was organized, under
an act passed  in  1850, and a City  Superintendent
appointed.
In SYRACUSE, previous to the year 1842, there was,
with a population of 7,000 inhabitants and 1,600 children of suitable school age, but two school houses, one




FOURTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN.    321
only  of which was properly supplied with the conveniences and comforts which appertain to such buildings.  The other was an elegant building  of doric
structure, one story only in height, with an accomplished teacher (Mr. SALISBURY).  About a  hundred
pupils were, however, "huddled" together in another
dilapidated building, erected in 1827, capable of comfortably accommodating only about seventy.  "Finally," says a correspondent of the "District School Journal,"  "within  the village proper there was a school
without a house; and a strange story might be related
by a fanciful historian of the wanderings of this migratory, mendicant school.  At one time we find it
located temporarily in a lower story of a public house,
like the errant professors of the now declining art of
mending broken spoons and crockery, and surrounded by
the brawl and confusion of dram-drinking, and the arrival and departure of noisy travelers and their lumbering vehicles."  At another period of its purgatorial wanderings, according to the relation of Mr. EDWARDS,
County Superintendent, the school of fifty pupils was
found cowering, like objects of persecution, in a crazy
loft abovo a machine shop, containing a steam engine,
several turning lathes, and other unquiet machinery,
between which and the school was an apology for a
floor of loose boards, which vibrated at every motion
of the animate or inanimate machines.  "There was,
apparently,".says the narrator, "a great emulation
between the pupils, engines, and workmen, to produce
the greatest confusion, and it required delicate perceptive faculties to decide which succeeded."
In 1843, however, five very handsome houses were
erected  at an  aggregate cost of $10,000, containing
ample accommodations for 2,000 pupils; and in 1850,
21




322            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
an  act was obtained  authorizing  the  establishment
of a Board of Education, consisting of two commissioners from  each of the wards of the city, elected
(after their first appointment by the Mayor and Common Council) by the people; and  invested with all
the necessary powers to make the schools free, and to
provide them  with suitable teachers, apparatus, textbooks, and  libraries.   Under this  organization the
Public Schools rapidly reached a high degree of prosperity and efficiency.
A  similar organization was effected in the cities of
TROY and UTICA, and the Public Schools rendered free
by the act of April 4, 1849, to amend the charter
of the  City of Troy, as amended by the acts of
1850 and 1851, and by the act in'relation to Common
Schools in the City of Utica, passed April 7, 1842, as
amended by the acts of 1844, 1848, and 1850.




FIFTH  PERIOD-1854 TO 1867.
STATE TAXATION AND RATE-BILLS.
SEC. I.-FIRST ADMINISTRATION  OF SUPERINTENDENT VICTOR
M. RICE-I854 FO 1857.
Recommendations of the Superintendent.-Messages of Gov. Clark.
Modification of the System.-Election of School Commissioners.
-Apportionment of Public Money.-Normal Schools.-Increase
of  State  Tax.-Rate  Bills.-District  Libraries.-General
Condition of the Schools.
EARLY  in April, 1854, the Hon. VICTOR M. RICE,
of Erie, was elected, on joint ballot of the Senate
and Assembly, Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Mr. RICE had previously, for several years, occupied
the  position  of  City  Superintendent of  the  Buffalo
Public  Schools, and  in that capacity  had given  evidence of an enlightened  devotion to  the interests of
popular  education.   His social qualities  were  of  a
high  order;  and  the  attractiveness  of his manners,
and his familiar acquaintance with the officers and inhabitants  of the  rural as well as the city  districts,
rendered him  an exceedingly popular and welcome visitant to all school gatherings and  Teachers' Associations  and  Institutes.   His extended  personal intercourse with  members  of  the  Legislature throughout
the State  contributed essentially to his influence with
that body  in  carrying  into  effect  his various  recommendations  and  suggestions.   Probably  no  previous incumbent of the Department was more widely
and generally known, more personally popular, or who




324                COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
rendered   more  efficient  services  in  the improvement
and  perfection  of the  Common  School system.   His
death  occurred  in December, 1869, one  year after the
expiration of his second official term.
His  unsuccessful  competitor  in  the  election,  Mr.
S. S. RANDALL, was immediately  on  his accession  reappointed  Deputy  Superintendent,  which  position  he
continued to occupy until his transfer to the supervision  of the  schools  of the  city  of New   York, in
June  of the  same year, when  J. J. CHAMBERS, Esq.,
of Westchester, was appointed  in  his place.
At the  opening  of the legislative  session  of 1855,
the  Governor (MYRON  H. CLARK) in  his message  thus
adverts to  the  system  of  Common  School education:
" Among the subjects which will require your attention there is none of
more importance than the system of public education of the State. The
magnitude of this interest has always been felt and appreciated by the
people, and the State has shown, from the earliest period of its existence, an
earnest desire to provide the means for the adequate instruction of all the
children within its limits. For a long time the system pursued was based
on the assumption that education was mainly a matter of personal interest,
and that the duty of providing it devolved exclusively upon parents, the instruction of the children of those whose property would not permit them to
incur the expense of it themselves being made to depend upon public charity. The inefficiency of this policy-its failure to accomplish the object
aimed at-and especially its direct tendency to create distinctions hostile to
the spirit and character of our institutions-led to its abandonment; and a
system based upon the principle that the State is even more deeply and permanently interested in the education of its children than their parents, and
that the expense of providing it should be borne by the aggregate of the
property within its limits, was adopted in its stead.' The law is defective, however, in that it fails to carry out fully and
completely the principle upon which it is based. Education in the district
school is not yet entirely free. If the cost of the schools in any district exceeds the amount of money received from the State, the deficiency is made
up by a rate-bill, assessed upon those who send their children to school; and
those who are unable to pay this assessment are relieved at the public expense, and thus become the recipients of public charity. The worst element
of the old system is thus preserved; and the fundamental principle of the
new law fails of its application in its most essential point. Education is still




FIFTH PERIOD.-STATE TAXATION.                     325
regarded as a matter of charity, and not of right; and so long as this continues to be the case in any degree, or to any extent, it will detract from the
full measure of usefulness which the system is designed to secure. This evil
in the system can be remedied only by MAKING THE SCHOOLS ENTIRELY FREE.
"The attention of the Legislature should clso be directed to measures for
improving the character of the schools, for increasing their efficiency, and
for elevating and extending the instruction which they impart. In a State
where every citizen should take an active interest in the administration of
public affairs, and may be called upon to perform the highest duties of public life, it is important that popular education should be carried to the highest point which the means of the State will allow. It has been objected to
the system of Free Schools, that people do not prize that which costs them
nothing, and that relieving individuals from the expense of educating their
children will diminish their interest in the subject, and lead them to relax
the vigilance which is essential to the highest excellence in the public
schools. There is, undoubtedly, some force in the suggestion, though experience shows that it is much less than is sometimes supposed. But whether
it be more or less, it is entitled to consideration, and provision should be
made for obviating the objection in any system of education which the State
may adopt. An obvious mode of doing this is by means of an active and intelligent supervision, by which the schools shall be regularly visited, and their
discipline examined by competent officers selected for that purpose."
In his first annual report to the Legislature of 1855,
Mr. RmCE availed himself of the occasion to recommend,
among other modifications of the school law then in force,
all of which were subsequently adopted and incorporated
with the existing system:
1. The  election  of  School Commissioners  for each
county or assembly district, with sufficient compensation
to secure the devotion, by capable and zealous men, of
their whole energies to the work of local supervision.
2. The apportionment of the  one-third of the public
money,  now  distributed   equally   among  the  districts,
upon  the basis of the number of duly qualified teachers
actually employed therein for a specific period.
3. That the inhabitants  and  legal voters of districts
in which Union  Free  Schools were or should  hereafter
be established  should be  authorized  to  levy a tax  on
such districts for the payment of teachers' wages.




326                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
4. That  the  financial  part  of  the  school  system
should be separated from that of supervision, and that
the  supervisors  of  the  several towns  should  be  made
the  custodians  of  the  school  money  apportioned  by
the  State, giving  the requisite bonds for its safe-keeping  and  proper disbursement in accordance  with law.
5. That different grades  of  certificates of  qualification  to  teachers, in   accordance  with  their  respective
scholarship and executive capacity, should be prescribed
by  the  examining  officers.
6. That more ample provision  should  be made for a
supply of competent teachers  throughout the State, by
the  establishment  of  additional  Normal  Schools, and
by  a more  liberal support to  Teachers' Institutes.
7. While  heartily  concurring  in  the  sentiments  and
reasonings  of those  who  had  urged  upon  the  Legislature the propriety  of establishing a mill tax, he  was of
opinion  that the present period  of gloom   and  depression  in  the  industry  and   commerce  of  the  country
was unpropitious to its immediate adoption.
S. That the  school laws  should  be revised, systematized, simplified, and  re-enacted  in  one law, so  as to
form   a  complete  Code  of Public  Instruction.
The number of school districts in the State was 11,798; and the number
of children under instruction during the year 1853, 877,201. The amount
of public money received and expended by the several districts, exclusive of
library  money, was...................................  $1,246,692  19
Local  funds.....................................     21,647   57
Raised by district taxation under act of 1851......   285,365 25
Paid on rate-bills for teachers' wages.............   330,190 93
Raised by district tax for exemptions of indigent
personss............................    30,753 24
Raised by district tax for deficiencies on rate bills...    13,874 93'    "     "   for colored schools...........   1,360 28
"'   "        "   for school-houses, sites, &c....   693,067 81
Amount of library money received...............       43,657 06
$2,666,609 36
Exceeding by about $200,000 the amount so expended in 1852.




FIFTH PERIOD.-STATE TAXATION.          327
Notwithstanding the large amount thus received for
libraries, there was a diminution  in  the number of
volumes of nearly 32,000!
Several Union  Schools had been organized in different sections of the State, under an act passed in
June, 1853, and were exerting a highly beneficial influence on the interests of education.
Gov. CLARK, in his message to the Legislature of
1856, renewed his recommendation for the adoption of
a mill tax, and for rendering  the Common  Schools
entirely free, by the abolition of the rate-bill system.
The number of pupils in  attendance  upon  the
several Common Schools, during the year embraced in
the second annual report of the Superintendent, was upward of nine hundred thousand, and the whole amount
of emoney expended in  their support upward of two
millions of dollars.  Of this amount, one million was
contributed by the State from the avails of the Common School and United  States  Deposit funds and
State taxation; $733,636 from  district taxation, for the
payment of teachers' wages and exemption of indigent
persons; $382,359 on rate-bills from the parents of children sending to school; $2,293.25 for the support of colored schools; and, in addition, the sum  of $783,000
was raised  by district taxation  for the purchase of
sites and  the  erection, repairing, and furnishing  of
school-houses and their appendages, of which $136,219
were expended in enclosures and out-buildings.
In reference to  the proposed modification of the
system, by the substitution of a per centum  tax of
one mill or some lesser fraction of a dollar on the
assessed real and personal property of the State, for
the present fixed rate, the Superintendent observes:




328                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
" The undersigned fe.ls it, as it has been felt by his predecessors, again
his duty to urge the propriety of so graduating the school tax that it may
bear some fixed proportion to the wealth upon which it is imposed. The
policy of devoting a portion of the public means to secure the universal
education of the people has long since ceased to be debatabl in this State.
Upon the lowest consideration of sheer economy, the State cannot afford to
have its children grow up in ignorance. Their effectiveness as producers of
wealth, as workers in any department of industry, depends principally upon
their intelligence. The comparatively high degree of intelligence existing
among our people is the circumstance which enables our artisans and manufacturers to maintain high wages, and yet produce at a cheaper cost than
the laborers of Europe, whose remuneration only suffices for a pinched and
scanty subsistence-the defect of special training being more than supplied
by general education. It is very obvious that what is the private interest of
each individual is also the general interest of the community. It is less
obvious, but no less true, that no man can afford to have his neighbor ignorant and poor any more than he can afford to have him infectiously diseased,
or criminally vicious. The increase of private wealth is only consistent with
that of the general stock from which, through whatsoever transformation
and exchanges, it must be derived. We are thus brought to the proposition
recognized in our practice, that each individual is interested in the effeetiveness of the industry of all his fellow-citizens, and, consequently, in their education, in proportion to his stake in the aggregate wealth. It is unnecessary
to resort to either political or moral considerations to sustain the policy and
justice of taxation for the general education, though they are so much more
apparent-as flowing from the sentiments as well as the reason-that they
have too commonly been relied upon to the overshadowing of the economical argument. Their entire consistency with it follows from  the truth
taught by all history, that moral and political progress are inseparable from
that advance in the power of man over the forces of nature which causes and
constitutes wealth.
" It is not to be forgotten, however, that the State has duties as well as
interests, and that children have rights as well as their parents. They are
alike members and citizens of the State, which is but an association of all,
for the protection and advantage of all, irrespective of the distinction of age,
and whose very life, like that of the natural body, consists in its perpetual
renewal and growth, by the accession of undeveloped elements. The central
idea of republican government is that it subordinates property to mankind,
protecting and administering material capital for the sake and in the interest
of man-not managing men for the sake of capital. The State fails to fulfil
its obligations to the child when it permits the parent, for any selfish or
merely personal object, to rob him of the years which nature has appointed
for bodily and spiritual development-for the gathering, and not for the expending, of mental and physical strength. It fails, equally, when it neglects
to furnish the means and appliances without which the child's own property,
in the time of his adolescence, would be rescued in vain from confiscation to




FIFTH PERIOD.-STATE TAXATION.             329
the immediate profit of his parent, and lapse, unfruitful of any acquisition
for future benefit to himself, to the State he is to serve in his maturity, and
the children with whom he is, in his turn, to replenish its forces."
He therefore recommended, in addition to his suggestions of the preceding year, "that the State tax for
the support of schools be increased to three-quarters of a
mill on each dollar of the assessed valuation of real and
personal property, so that its proceeds should keep pace
with the wealth of the State and the number of children
to be educated."
This recommendation  of a State  tax, based  upon
a  fixed  percentage  of the  entire  valuation  of the
property of the State, and capable of expansion with
the wealth of the  State and the educational requirements of its future citizens, made, in 1852, as heretofore
stated, by the Commissioner appointed by Gov. HUNT,
adopted  in 1854 by  Superintendent H. S. RANDALL,
and  now  renewed by  Mr. RICE, re-opened  at once
the warfare against the obnoxious rate-bill system, which
had formed so conspicuous and powerful an element in
the Free-School campaign.  The  $800,000 tax imposed
by the Legislature of 1851, as a compromise between
what were claimed as the extreme views of the friends
and opponents of Free Schools, had not only failed to
reduce, by any considerable amount, the burdens cast
upon  the several districts, in  the  support  of their
schools, but to meet the views and wishes of the liberal
and most enlightened advocates of the existing system.
The amount levied by rate-bill in the year 1851, the
year previous to  the actual operation of the law, was
about  $225,000; and  the average  annual amount so
levied for a period of twenty years preceding, $450,000;
while in 1855 it was $461,779.13. The  law  expressly
required the trustees of each district in the State to




330             COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
exempt all indigent persons having children of a suitable age for school from  all contribution  toward the
payment of teachers' wages, and to collect the amount
of such exemptions from  the taxable inhabitants of the
district. The official returns made to the Superintendent's Department showed that in a large mtjority of the
eleven thousand districts of the State no exemptions whatever were made. Between forty and fifty thousand children
were officially ascertained to have been kept out of the
schools from  the inability of their parents or guardians
to pay  their proportion of the rate-bills; the refusal
or omission of the trustees to exempt them from such
payment, under the  provisions of the  law; or from
unwillingness and repugnance on  the  part of such
parents to avail themselves of their privileges to educate their children in forma pauperis, as a district charge.
The friends of free and universal education insisted
that in the election  of 1849, when the question was
submitted to the people, in a distinct and explicit form,
whether the Common Schools of the State should be
absolutely free to all, without discrimination or restriction, it was almost unanimously determined in the affirmative; that in the sharply contested  election of 1850,
although. presented in an equivocal and embarrassing
form, a decided majority had again, while condemning
the special details of the act of 1849, re-affirmed the
principle; that the Legislature of 1851, in retaining the
obnoxious rate-bill feature, in direct contravention of
the plain and repeatedly declared will of the people,
had  transcended their representative limits; and that
while it was the province and the duty of that body, in
accordance with the distinct and explicit verdict of
their constituents, to remove every  objectionable feature from the act, and to render its practical operation




FIFTH PERIOD.-STATE TAXATION.           331
free  from  all burdensome  inequality, it  was  most
emphatically their duty to make the Common Schools
free to every child, and to charge the expense of their
maintenance and support upon the entire property of the
State, equitably and fairly assessed. If three-quarters
of a mill, as at first proposed, upon each dollar of such
valuation, should fail to accomplish this result, then
one mill, one and a quarter, or such other percentage
should be adopted as would effect the object.
During this year (1856) the Legislature passed an
act abolishing the offices of Town Superintendent and
Inspector, authorizing and directing the election by the
people of School Commissioners, in  districts to be
formed by the boards of supervisors of the respective
counties, in conformity as nearly as practicable to the
several Assembly districts of each, exclusive of cities
and towns for which special laws had been or should be
provided; such commissioners to hold their offices for
the term of three years respectively, to have the general supervision of the Common Schools in their several
districts, apportion the public money  therein, advise!
and  counsel with the school officers and inhabitants,
look after the condition of the school-houses and condemn such as were unfit, for use, recommend studies
and text-books, examine and license teachers and annul
their certificates  for sufficient cause, and, when required by the State Superintendent, take testimony on
appeals, and discharge such other duties as he may
prescribe. Under the provisions of this act, 112 Commissioners were elected, and entered upon the discharge
of their official duties.  The share of public money
belonging to each town was directed to be paid over by
the several county treasurers to the supervisor, on his
order, who was directed to pay it over, on the proper




332             COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
order of the trustees, to the teacher or other person
entitled to receive it. A  State tax of threefourths of a
mill, on every dollar of the valuation of real and personal property in the State, was  substituted for the
$800,000 tax heretofore required to be annually raised
for the Common Schools, one-third of the avails of
which, deducting library money and other contingent
expenses of the system, was directed to be equally
divided among the several districts, and the remainder,
including the library money, according to the population of each town. The share of each district, after
setting apart its specific district quota, was directed to
be divided by the commissioners into two equal parts,
one of which, with  the  library  money, to be  distributed to their several districts in proportion to the
number of children between five and twenty-one years
residing in them, and the other according to the average
daily attendance of pupils.
An act was also passed authorizing a loan of $6,000
to Genesee College and the Wesleyan Seminary connected therewith, conditioned that its board of trustees
should establish, and place under the charge of the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, twenty free and
perpetual scholarships. The  Superintendent was required to receive applications from  any part of the
State for the admission into these institutions of youths
distinguished for ability and acquirements in any of
the Common or Union Free Schools, and who might be
recommended by the trustees or board of education
thereof, and from such applicants to select, from time
to time, so many as should equal the number of scholarships thus provided for.
From  the annual report of the Superintendent for
1857, it appeared that the number of children in at



FIFTH PERIOD.-STATE TAXATION.            333
tendance upon  the Common  Schools during the year
1855, was 867,577, and that after deducting about 35,000
pupils  in the several private schools, academies, and
colleges from the whole number of resident children reported, there  remained  269,000 children  of suitable
school age not in attendance upon any school whatever during  the year. The whole  amount of public
money received during the year was $1,054,210.47 applicable to teachers' wages, and $50,806.50 to libraries.
The amount raised by local taxes in city, village, and
Union Free Schools where rate-bills  were dispensed
with  was $720,774.28; that contributed  on  rate-bills
in  the country  districts, $461,779.13; that raised by
tax in those districts for exemption  of indigent parents, and  for deficiencies in the collection of ratebills, $45,886.61; for the purchase of sites, $57,839.15;
for building or purchasing  school-houses, fences, &c.,
$384,101.88; for hiring school-houses, $17,568.69; for
the repairing of school-houses, fences, and outbuildings,
$169,555.98; for fuel'and fires, $150,944.31; for the purchase of book-cases and school furniture, $50,781.97;
for  colored schools, $18,000; and for incidental expenses,  school apparatus, &c., $341,000; making  in
all, $3,544,587. The number of volumes in the several
district libraries was 1,418,100, being  87,270 less than
in the preceding year, and 70,000 less than  in 1853.
The Superintendent recommended an increase in the
number of Normal Schools in the State, and that the
services of eminent instructors should annually be engaged for lectures and practical teaching in the several
Teachers' Institutes.




SECTION II.-ADMINISTRATION OF SUPERINTENDENT HENRY H.
VAN DYCK-I857 TO 1862.
Condition of the Common Schools.-Reports of the Superintendent.State Association of Teachers.-Distribution of the School Fund.District  Libraries.-District  Commissioners.  Teachers' Institutes.-Offcial Visitations. —Object Teaching.-Capital of the
Common School Fund.-Controversy with the Comptroller.
ON  the second Tuesday of February, 1867, the Honorable  HENRY  H. VAN  DYCK, of Albany, was
elected, on joint ballot of the Senate and  Assembly,
Superintendent of Public Instruction.  At the time of
his election Mr. VAN DYCK was one of the editors and
proprietors of the "Atlas" newspaper published in Albany.  He had previously, while a resident of Orange
county, occupied the position  of State  Senator from
the district of which that county formed a part.  He
was a man of superior abilities, inflexible integrity, unassuming  manners,  and fine  social qualities.  Honest
himself, he had little toleration for dishonest practices
on the part of any of the school officers placed under
his supervision; and  destitute himself of all pretension, he availed  himself of every  proper opportunity
fearlessly to expose and rebuke shams of every description, whether in high or low places.  After an administration of the Department for five years, he resigned
his position for that of the head of the Banking Department, from  which  he was promoted  by  President
LINCOLN to the responsible post of Assistant Treasurer
of the United  States  at New  York, in which he remained until the past year.
From  the annual report of the Superintendent for
1858, it appeared that the number of children in attend



FIFTH PERIOD.-STATE TAXATION.            335
ance upon the Common Schools in 1856 was 832,735;
that 59 new  school districts had been formed during
the year; that the total expenditure for school purposes  was $3,323,060; of which $1,106,432 were derived
from the State apportionment; $1,752,377 raised by district tax, of which $1,216,710 was raised in the cities,
and $536,607 in the country districts, in addition to the
sum  of $427,956 raised by rate-bills. For the payment
of teachers' wages the sum  of $716,685 was expended
in the  cities, and $1,30S,681 in the country districts;
for libraries, $6,306.68 in the former, and $25,857 in
the  latter; for school apparatus, $86,172 in the former, and  $2,560 in the latter; for colored schools,
$6,760.54 in the former, and  $1,141 in the latter; for
expenses of sites, school-houses, &c., $383,684 in the
former, and $362,408 in the latter; and for incidental
expenses, $296,975 in the former, and $102,666 in the latter. The number of volumes in the several school libraries was 1,377,933, being a decrease of 40,000 during the
past year, and of 226,277 since 1853, notwithstanding the
large sum-$55,000-annually appropriated for their increase. "A  rational presumption  would be," observes
the Superintendent,  "that  the amount annually  received from the State would, in most of the districts,
be sufficient to guard against an actual diminution in
the number of volumes possessed, but, so far from this
being the case, there has been an average decrease in
the number of volumes during the last four years of 56,569
per annumn. Certain it is, that in many sections of the
State, the interest heretofore felt in the preservation
and increase of the district library has greatly diminished, if it has not entirely ceased."
The Superintendent, in view  of the pecuniary exigencies of the State, and of individuals, and from  an




336                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
unwillingness unnecessarily to disturb the existing system of public instruction, felt himself bound to refrain
from   urging  any increase  in  the  rate  of taxation  over
that  already  provided, with  a  view   of  rendering  the
schools   entirely   free-a  consummation   deemed   by
many  highly  desirable.
"To my mind," he observes, "it seems quite as important that means
should be devised to render the money now contributed more diffusive
in its benefits, and wider in its scope of application. If the State steps in,
and by virtue of its sovereignty appropriates the property of the citizens to
the education of all who choose to avail themselves of the benefit of the
schools, the tax-payer has a right to demand that the sum thus contributed
by him shall be made to confer the greatest amount of good of which its expenditure is capable. If the schools were full, and the means of instruction,
as compared with those seeking to avail themselves thereof, deficient, a necessity would exist for extended accommodations and greater expenditure. But
so far from this being the case, outside of the cities and villages, the almost
universal concession is, that the schools are too small-the number in attendance being so limited as to render their support, beyond the time for which
the State contribution would pay, burthensome. *  *  * It further appears
that the contribution of more money than is now expended is not the only
hing necessary to universal education. Indeed, the great obstacle to be contended against in reaching this desideratum is, not so much the want of facilities for imparting instruction, as the want of disposition on the part of a
considerable portion of our population to avail themselves of those already
furnished. The remedy for this evil of non-attendance is not so apparent.
The liberty of the citizen in controlling the time and occupation of his children is not to be infringed for slight causes, or without great caution. Compulsory legislation, in this respect, could scarcely be enforced. But it is a
question worthy of the consideration of the Legislature, whether the same end
might not, to a considerable extent, be attained by the application of a discrimination in the distribution of the State funds founded on the proportional
number in actual attendance.  Such a provision would give to each tax-payer
a direct pecuniary interest in securing the largest possible attendance in the
schools, both as a means of securing a larger share of the State bounty, and
as a defense against local taxation.  If this or some other mode should be
found operative in diminishing this great evil, it would, in the estimation of
the undersigned, form the most palpable improvement of which the system
is at present susceptible."
A  change of the present school year, commencing on
the 1st of January and ending  on  the 31st of December,
to  one  commencing  on  the  1st of October  and  termi



FIFTH  PERIOD.-STATE  TAXATION.                      337
nating on  the 30th  of September, was recommended, and
promptly adopted by the Legislature.
In conclusion, the Superintendent observes:
"Though the Common Schools of the State are as yet far from exhibiting
that perfection in character and extent of usefulness which is desirable, it is
cause for congratulation that their progressive improvement is becoming each
year more manifest. If the undersigned abstains from a lengthened disquisition upon the importance of general education, it is not attributable to an
under-valuation of the benefits which knowledge in its most extended form
is calculated to confer; but from a conviction that the representatives of the
people must, from the distinguished post they occupy, be pre-supposed to
hold in due estimation the advantages to be derived from a practical diffusion
of its benefits."
The number of  children  attending  the several Common  Schools during  the year 1857 was 842,137, of which
235,336 were  in  the  city  and  606,801 in  the  rural districts, showing  an  increase of over 9,000  from  the  preceding year.  The amount of public money received from
the  State  was $1,343,000, of which  $371,000 were apportioned to the cities and $975,895.50 to the rural districts.
The  amount  raised  by district taxes  was $1,846,542.71,
of which $1,309,765.45 were raised in the city and only
$536,777.26  in  the  rural districts.   The  additional sum
of $390,515.50  was,  however, paid  on  rate-bills in  the
latter, bringing  its  contribution  to  the  general expenditure  up  to  $927,292.76.   The  entire  expenditure  for
school purposes in  the State was $3,792,948.79, showing
an increase over the preceding year of $389,809.47. Of
this  sum   there  were  paid:
Cities.        Rural Districts.
For teachers' wages.....................$926,768 42       $1,445,345 44
"    libraries..............................  6,706  89        33,352  97
"  school apparatus..................... 91,562 36              4,975 58
"  colored schools.......................  8,367 75            2,362 18
school houses, sites, etc................ 470,402 60      295,123 99
"  incidental expenses.................. 90,423 33             48,530 23
Total.......................... $1,804284 59       $1,988,664 20
22




338                COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
The number of volumes in the several school district
libraries was 1,402,253, being a decrease of nearly 48,000
volumes from  those of the  preceding year, and  of upward of 200,000 since 1853.
"Concurrent testimony from various sections of the State," observes the
Superintendent, "represents the district libraries as being little used, as
rapidly deteriorating in condition and value, and as receiving little attention from the officers charged with their care or custody. I am not prepared
to say that this indifference has as yet become universal; but that it is
rapidly approximating this end cannot be doubted.  Whether attributable
to a bad selection of books, to the more general diffusion of periodical literature, to a want of means adequate to the addition of new works of interest,
or all these causes combined, I am not able to determine. Whether the
concentration of the district libraries into a town library, and the application
of all the money apportioned to a town for library purposes to the purchase
of works of enduring interest, under the direction of a board charged with
the duty, would result in a practical benefit not attained under the present
system, is a subject well worthy of the consideration of the Legislature.
Certain it is, that the existing district libraries are rapidly depreciating both
in numbers and in the value of the volumes on hand."
The system  of supervision  for the  schools through
the agency of District Commissioners, though attended
with some inconveniences, and the subject of considerable complaint and local hostility, was found, upon the
whole, productive of highly beneficial results, and its ab
rogation was decidedly deprecated by the Superintendent.  He observes:
" Nothing can be more detrimental to the cause of Common School education than the constant vacillations by which the system has been attended
-now under local inspectors and commissioners-anon under county superintendents-then back to town superintendents-now under district commissioners-each carrying out the peculiar views of the individual in charge, and
none left in possession long enough to carry into effect any permanent system
of measures. That now in operation has these merits at least: that under it
something like uniformity in the qualifications of teachers may be attained;
that, by bringing a greater extent of territory under one jurisdiction, a combined effort for improvement through the medium of Teachers' Institutes and
Associations can be more readily carried into effect; that it brings the commissioner into more intimate acquaintance with the qualifications of teachers
within his district, enabling him to select the competent and reject the time



FIFTH  PERIOD.-STATE TAXATION.                     339
serving; that the duration of his term, and the extent of his constituency,
give him an independence of action that would not pertain to a more restricted locality and office; and that when its importance shall come to be
duly estimated, and the value of the services rendered duly appreciated, men
of higher qualification will be selected for the performance of its duties than
could be expected in the case of an officer whose choice and jurisdiction
should be limited to a single town. For these and many other reasons that
might be adduced, I trust the Legislature will not deem it expedient to alter,
in its essential features, the system of school supervision now in operation."
He  also  recommended  that  provision  be  made  for
the  acquisition  of  title  to  sites for  school-houses  in
the rural districts, by appraisement and appropriation,
as in the case of highways, railroads, or other property
for public use-great difficulty being frequently experienced  in  obtaining  such  sites  near the  center of districts.   "In  earlier  days,"  he  says,  "when  land  was
cheap, and  when  the  spot  covered  by  the house  was
all that was deemed requisite, such inconvenience was
not often  experienced.   But the  evil has now  become
one  of  serious  magnitude, involving  districts  in  quarrels, and tending to the serious injury of the schools.'
In  concluding  his  report  for  the  year  1859,  the
Superintendent observes:
" The experience of another year, and a more extended observation of the
practical condition of the schools, enables me to express a decided conviction
as to their improvement in scope, efficiency, and usefulness. Though still
falling below the standard of excellence that is desirable-though still far
short of what we hope to make them, our Common Schools must, even in
their imperfect condition, be regarded as the pride, the hope, the ornament
of the State. No person can contrast their present character, and the studies
pursued in them, with what they were when the present generation of adults
were the recipients of their meager instruction, without a feeling of pride at
the advancement accomplished.  But it is my abiding conviction that no
improvement really worthy of the term will be attained until those who preside in the schools shall become thoroughly qualified for the responsible station which they occupy. Says the philosophic GUIZOT,'It can never be too
often repeated that it is the master that makes the school.' What, then, are
we to expect really great or good in the character of these institutions so
long as they are left to the charge of persons whose superficial acquirements




340                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
are but a mockery of true learning, and who have never spent an hour in cu!tivating a knowledge of that'most difficult of all arts, the art of teaching l'
Had that excellent litany which invokes deliverance'from plague, pestilence, and famine-from battle, murder, and from sudden death'-also embodied a petition for exemption from incompetent school-teachers, it would
not have trenched upon a subject in favor of which wise men and holy men
might not properly raise their supplications. To remedy this great defect
which now retards the progress of our schools, the commissioners in charge
should be encouraged to discard the venal, the time-serving, the incompetent
applicants for certificates, and thus create a demand for the services of
those really fitted by nature and acquirement to discharge the responsible
duty of instructing the youthful mind, and guiding it into proper channels.
This is the dictate not less of duty than of true interest; for who can estimate the amount of injury resulting from the employment of incompetent
teachers to the children placed under their care-whose time, once lost, can
never be recalled; whose disgust for study, once engendered, may never be
allayed; whose energies misdirected may never again move in the right
channel; whose success in life may be wrecked upon the rock of the teacher's
inefficiency or ignorance. Whatever measures may be devised by the Legislature to remedy this wide-spread evil, by advancing the character and qualifications of our teachers through facilities for instruction placed within their
reach, and rendered indispensable to their employment, shall receive my
earnest endeavors to carry them into effect. It is thus, by a course of gradual improvement, that our Common School system is to attain that expansion and perfection of which it is capable, and thus prepare its recipients to
discharge the high duties pertaining to citizenship-to fit them for usefulness
here and happiness hereafter."
On  the  second  Tuesday  in February, 1860, Mr. VAN
DYCK  was re-elected  Superintendent of Public  Instruction.  Mr. E. W. KEYES was continued  in  the position
of Deputy.
The  annual  report  for   the  ensuing   year   (1860)
shows  an  attendance  of  851,533  pupils in  the  several
Common Schools, during  the  preceding  year, being  an
increase of over 9,000, and of 92,702 within the past
ten  years.  The  amount paid  for teachers' wages, during  the year, in the several cities, was $961,395.14, and
the  number of teachers 2,500, of whom  2,000 were  females.  In  the  rural districts  the  amount so  paid  was
$1,481,989.66, and the number of teachers 12,132, more




FIFTH PERIOD.-STATE TAXATION.            341
than one-half of whom were females. The amount of
public money apportioned by the State was $4,156,744.08,
which  was  about  equally  distributed  between  the
city and country districts: the amount raised by district taxation, $2,000,000, of which $1,400,000 were raised
in the cities; and $600,000, together with $414,000 contributed  on rate-bill, in the country districts. During
the past three years upward of $2,000,000  had been
expended through  taxes voluntarily  imposed  in  the
several districts for the purchase of sites, the building, hiring, purchasing, repairing, and insuring schoolhouses, and for fences, out-houses, furniture, &c., of
which sum  $1,263,363.76 were expended in the cities,
and $750,000 in the rural districts. The whole amount
expended  during  the  year for  school purposes was
$3,664,617.57, about equally divided between the city
and country districts.
Nearly three months had been spent by the Superintendent during the year in personally visiting and
addressing Teachers' Institutes, and other educational
assemblages, one of which was the State Convention
of Commissioners and City Superintendents at Elmira,
over whose deliberations he was called upon to preside.  Several of the Institutes were also visited by
Mr. E. W. KEYES, the Deputy Superintendent, to whose
ability, industry, and zeal in this respect, as well as
in regard to the general business of the Department,
Mr. VAN DYCK bears the highest testimony.
Twenty-three schools for Indian  children were in
operation in various sections of the State-several of
them  under the direction of native teachers, who discharged their duties with creditable fidelity and ability.
The Superintendent strongly recommended an alteration of the basis of distribution  of the two-thirds of




342                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
the  public money  now  required  to  be apportioned  according  to  the  number  of  resident  children  of  the
proper  school  age, to  an  apportionment  based  upon
the  actual average attendance  of  such  pupils during  a
period  of  not  less  than   six  months  of  each  year.
"The  inevitable  result  of  such  a  course,"  he  says,
"would  be to  make  the  inhabitants  of  each  district
directly interested in the largest practicable attendance
upon  the schools-to  make such  attendance  more regular  and  persistent  in  its character-and  to  foster, at
the  same time, a  spirit  of  interest  and  inquiry  into
the  condition  and progress  of the schools, on the part
of  many  who  now  regard  them   with  comparative  indifference." In conclusion he observes:
" Personal observation, and the concurrent testimony of all familiar with
the subject, enable me to express a confident conviction that the past
year has witnessed a decided improvement in the scope and efficiency of
our Common Schools. This has chiefly resulted from the introduction of more
competent teachers, joined to improved methods of instruction developed at
the Teachers' Institutes, and through the medium of Teachers' Associations.
That great defects still exist is not in the least problematical; and though
deficiencies are easy of exposure, the application of a remedy is far more
difficult. If, with our present experience, we could commence our school
system de novo-if it had not grown with our growth, and entwined itself
in its present form with all the partialities, prejudices, and aspirations of our
people-a system could be doubtless devised more homogeneous in its character, and rising by regular gradation from mere elementary studies to the
highest educational attainments. But this could only be clone through gov
ernmental requisitions as to classification, attendance, and study, such as our
citizens have not been accustomed to endure, and which, being incompatible
with that volition of choice and fieedom in action inseparable from free institutions, would not be tolerated by the community. In despite of glowing
encomiums upon foreign systems, and even of attainable improvements in
our own, our citizens will still claim the right of educating their children in
their own way, and to an extent commensurate with the peculiar notions of
propriety entertained by each individual. Impressed with this conviction, I
would make our Common Schools-those neighborhood colleges from which
the great mass of our thriving population must continue to graduate-as
perfect in their details, as thorough in their mental discipline, as extensive
in their scope of study, as the wants and wishes of the class for whom they




FIFTH  PERIOD.-STATE TAXATION.                       343
are more immediately designed will allow. The greatest boon that can be
bestowed upon them is to furnish them with accomplished teachers, who are
familiar with the most approved methods of instruction, and who are capable
of leading pupils from  the simplest elements of knowledge through the
branches pertaining to a sound English education. With all that we can
do, we shall still find the inmates of our schools such as they have ever been,
with various capacities for receiving knowledge-with minds immature and
requiring careful training for their proper development-with no greater
genius for the acquisition of knowledge than those who have preceded them.
But we should open to them  new studies, demanded by the present condition of society, of which they may avail themselves with advancing years;
and furnish them with such facilities for the acquisition of rudimentary
science as may be brought fairly within the scope of Common School instruction. Thus much at least is practicable; and though it may not embrace all
that is either desirable or attainable, it will, in my estimation, be found preferable in practice to many of the sublimated theories to which the subject
of Common School instruction has given birth.
" Popular education being in a great measure the offspring of the present
century has not yielded its full fruits-but here, as elsewhere,'as we sow,
so also shall we reap.' The greatest amount of practicable education should
be our aim —and in this term  is included much more than instruction in
those primary branches which constituted the meager fare imparted by the
schools of other days, and still emulated in various localities. These form
the tools by which education is achieved; and hold to it merely the relation
which the chisel bears to the sculptor, or the brush to the painter. The material wealth of our citizens has increased beyond the conception of the most
sanguine calculator in former days; and no limit to acquisition is yet discernible in the future. But there is reason to apprehend that general education is not advancing in the same ratio; in part from mistaken notions of
economy, and partly from  a self-satisfying view of the progress already attained. Surely whilst monarchical governments are seriously occupied in advancing the educational interests of their subjects, the citizens of a country
whose institutions rest upon popular intelligence can ill afford to neglect
any practicable improvement in that which involves the perpetuity of the
government under which they live. The problem is still to be solved, whether
the American of the succeeding generation shall hold the same pre-eminence
in general intelligence which he has hitherto enjoyed, or whether he shall be
excelled in this respect by the natives of other climes, whom inclinati n or illfortune may throw upon our shores. If we would maintain our national supremacy-if we would melt the mixed races with which our country is
thronged into one homogeneous population-we must extend to all the benefits of thorough Common School education-we must indoctrinate our youth
with the advantages of superior knowledge, and endow them with all the
educational facilities requisite to a life of honor, usefulness, and virtue. You
will, I doubt not, join in the aspiration that our educational system may eventuate in placing upon the stage of action a generation of intelligent citizens,




344-                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
who shall render our free institutions a blessing at home, as well as a beacon
of hope to denizens of less favored lands."
On  the  31st  of January, 1861, Superintendent VAN
DDYCK  transmitted  to the  Legislature  his annual report
for  the year  ending  Sept. 30, 1860, from   which  it appeared  that the number  of districts  in  the  State  had
increased  to  11,382; the  number  of children  under instruction  during  the  year to  867,388,  of whom   nearly
600,000 were in the  rural districts; the number of teachers  to   15,021, of whom   12,290  were employed   in  the
rural districts;  and   the   number  of  school-houses  to
11,650,  of  which  11,379   were  in  the   rural  districts,
showing  an  excess over the previous  year of 74, many
of the old superstructures in these districts having been
succeeded   by   new   and  more  commodious  buildings.
The total expenditure during the year for this purpose
was  $642,290.63.   The  schools  were in  session  for  an
average period of eight months.
" The returns clearly indicate," says the Superintendent, " that so far as
our Common Schools are concerned, the business of teaching is rapidly passing into the hands of females. I have no lamentations to utter over this ostensible fact. Whilst there are circumstances under which the services of a
male teacher may be indispensable, it is still my opinion that in most of our.
district schools the presence of a well qualified female teacher will eventuate
in the moral and intellectual advantage of the pupils, beyond that which they
would attain under the auspices of a majority of the teachers of the sterner
sex."
The  expenditures   for  school  purposes  during  the
year were as follows:
Cities.        Rural Districts.
For teachers' wages....................$1,118,078 14      $1,479,886 24
"    libraries...........................   6,846  04         27,189   83
"  school apparatus.....................   75,449 71           6,973 88
"  colored schools....................    20,985 28            4,137 53
"  school-houses, sites, &c..............   361,321 80        280,968 83
incidental expenses.................  208,453 63          153,956 04
$1,791,134 60      $1,953,112 35
Being a total expenditure in all of.......................... 3,744,246 95




FIFTH  PERIOD.-STATE TAXATION.                    345
"Concurrent testimony  from  nearly every quarter of
the  State," says  the Superintendent,  "represents  the
libraries in  the  rural  districts  as  almost totally  unused,
and rapidly deteriorating in value.  The whole number of
volumes reported  during  the  past  year  is  1,286,536,
which  is  317,674 less  than  was reported  in  1853, although  $55,000 has been  appropriated  each  year since
that period for library purposes."
Referring  to  the  various  incongruities  and  deficiencies in the existing law   for the  establishment of Union
Free  School districts, for  correcting which  a bill had
been  plrepared, and would be submitted  by him  to the
Legislature  for  its approval,  the  Superintendent  sarcastically adds:' There are other incongruities in the act, not amongst the least of which
is that which admits of the imposition of a rate-bill upon the pupils. A Free
School supported by rate-bills is such an anomaly as could be found sanctioned
nowhere else save in the code of public instruction in the State of  ezw York."
Twenty-four schools  for  the  instruction   of  Indian
children  had been  maintained  during  the  year in  the
various reservations, at a cost of $4,396.
In  conclusion  the Superintendent observes:
"The material prosperity which marks our country-the happiness and
intelligence which distinguishes its citizens-may be traced in no inconsiderable degree to the diffusion of education amongst all classes of our population. If that indomitable energy which characterizes our people was
guided by knowledge more specific, the result of early study and thorough
instruction, still more remarkable would be our progress in all the elements
of national greatness. To contribute to this end by giving to the schools of
New York a more elevated character and a wider range of usefulness is an
object worthy of the combined wisdom of her legislators, which it shall be
my earnest endeavor to carry into effect."
Mr.  VAN  DYCK  having,  in  February   succeeding,
been elected by the Legislature to the position of Superintendent of the Banking Department, resigned his office
as Superintendent of Public Instruction, the  duties of




346                COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
which  devolved  upon the Deputy  Superintendent, Mr.
KEYES.
On  the 8th  of January, 1862, acting  Superintendent
EMERSON  W. KEYES  submitted  the  annual report of
the Department, from  which  it  appeared  that in  the
11,400 school districts of the State there were in attendance during  the preceding  year 872,854 pupils, being  an increase  of  5,000  over that of 1860; that the
amount of public  money  apportioned  by  the  State
to  the  several districts  was  $1,331,901.71, of  which
$947,063 was  apportioned  to  the  rural  districts;  the
amount raised  by district taxes  upward of $2,000,000,
of which $1,500,000 was raised  in  the cities; and the
amount contributed  on  rate-bills in  the rural districts,
nearly $400,000; the amount paid  for teachers' wages,
$2,655,451.70; for libraries, $8,144.47; for  school apparatus, $88,600; for colored schools, $23,600; for the purchase  of sites  and  buildings, repairing  and furnishing
school-houses, $656,000; and  for  other  incidental expenses,  $382,000- amounting  in  all  to  $3,841,270.81,
about  equally  divided  between  the  city and  country
districts, and  exceeding  by  $97,000 the expenditure  of
the preceding year.
In  reference  to  the  district  libraries,  the  acting
Superintendent thus indignantly expresses himself:
" Section 4, chapter 237, Laws of 1838, appropriated the sum of $55,000
annually for three years, to be applied to the purchase of books for district
libraries, and, by the operation of subsequent statutes, the same provision
has been continued in force until the present time. The whole amount of
these appropriations, including that for the current school year, is, therefore, $1,265,000.
" It has ever been our pride and boast that while the corruption and venality of reckless and unscrupulous men, both within and surrounding the
high places of our national and State councils, have exposed the funds of almost every department of governmental administration to the illegal and
sacrilegious invasion of peculating officials and rapacious jobbers of high and




FIFTH  PERIOD.-STATE  TAXATION.                      347
low degree, our School Fund stands forth as the sole bright and particular exception from this dark and degrading record; no appreciable portion of its
revenues having ever been diverted to other than legitimate and worthy uses.
But when I look for the return from this princely investment, and find it
mainly represented by a motley collection of books, ranging in character
from "Headley's Sacred Mountains" to the "Pirate's Own Book," numbering in the aggregate a million and a half of volumes, scattered among the
various families of districts, constituting a part of the family library, or serving as toys for the children in the nursery; torn, worn, soiled, and dilapidated, saturated with grease, offering a temptation to ravenous rats; crowded
into cupboards, thrown into cellars, stowed away in lofts, exposed to the action of water, of the sun, and of fire; or more frequently locked away into
darkness unrelieved, and silence unbroken-I am constrained to believe that
no plunder-burdened contractor or bribe-stained official ever yielded to the
State so poor a return for his spoil as have the people of this State derived
from  this liberal and beneficent appropriation, through their own reckless
and improvident use of it.' The darkness of this picture is partially relieved by the fact that the
cities and larger villages of the State, by whom no inconsiderable portion of
this fund has been received, have been less negligent and wasteful in its expenditure, and that under the law of 1858, as also by the sanction of this
Department under a previous statute, much of the appropriation has been
applied to the payment of teachers' wages. Still, in the last five years,
$139,798.10 have been expended in the rural districts for library purposes,
while the number of volumes reported has diminished in the same period
from 1,288,070 to 1,206,075, a loss of 81,995 volumes as a return for the expenditure named. I think this may safely be set down as among our permanent investments of the School Fund from which no revenue is derived!"
With  regard  to  the  supply  of  properly  educated
teachers, MR. KEYES  says:
" A single Normal School, sending forth its one or two hundred students
each year, is obviously inadequate to supply the needs of a State whose
teachers are numbered by tens of thousands. The greater number of these
thousands will not, and. under existing conditions, cannot, be made to engage
in the business of teaching as a permanent pursuit: hence they are unwilling, even if the facilities were afforded, to devote the years for special preparation which the course of study in the Normal School requires.' Tlie practical question is therefore presented, how shall we reach this
great body of transient teachers by whom most of the work of instruction in
the schools of the State is to be performed? Common observation, the testimony of school commissioners, and the practical results of their labors, all establish most conclusively the disheartening fact, that left to themselves they
will enter upon the business of teaching with the most limited knowledge of
the subjects which they are to teach, with no just conception of the nature




348                  COMMON  SCHOOL  SYSTEM.
and office of true education, with no sense of moral obligation, and with no
higher aims or nobler desire than to speed through the drudgery of their
term, and grasp the wages that have been  their sole stimulus to any
exertion.
"To reach this mass and body of mind, to awaken it to some apprehension of the teacher's work, to stimulate desire, to arouse ambition, to quicken
moral sensibility, to secure concert of action, and to impart some knowledge
in those elementary branches in which they are most deficient, is found to be
a work indispensable to the progress of our schools, and a work which can
be cone most effectively through the instrumentality known as TEACHERS'
INSTITUTES.
" For many years after their introduction in our State, owing in part to a
want of confidence in their utility, whereby legislative recognition and support were withheld, in part to a prevalent apathy among teachers, and in
part to the want of efficient and thorough supervision, Teachers' Institutes
led a fitful life, and finally languished and fell nearly or quite into disuse
But under the present system  of supervision, a new  impulse has been
given to this system of efforts, and with such success that they may now be
regarded as an established feature of our educational policy.
"The results of Teachers' Institutes the present year have been most
gratifying. An apprehension was generally and most naturally entertained
that owing to our national misfortunes, in the contemplation of which the
whole mind of the people seemed to be absorbed, the attendance upon
Teachers' Institutes would be greatly reduced, and the general interest and
value of their instruction would be much less than in past and prosperous
years.  So far from  realizing this apprehension, the attendance has been
greater this year than ever before, as will be seen from the following comparison with 1859, the most prosperous year of which we have any previous
record.
1859. Number of counties holding Institutes, 50.
No. of teachers in attendance, 6,766. Average per Co., 135 1-3.
1861. Number of counties holding Institutes, 47.
No. of teachers in attendance, 7,488. Average per Co., 159 1-3."
Of the success of the District Commissioners' system
the  acting  Superintendent speaks in the highest terms:
"The present system of school supervision has demonstrated  its vast
superiority over that which it superseded, and is rapidly growing in popular
favor and esteem. The objections to it are rapidly disappearing, as the disabilities that were incident to a change have been overcome, and experience
has given opportunity for a better knowledge of its practical duties. It has
been successfully established that the opposition to it arose less from defects
in the system itself than from its defective administration.
"The steady progress and improvement of our educational effort, so
clearly apparent upon a comprehensive survey of past and existing condi



FIFTH  PERIOD. -STATE TAXATION.                     349
tions, is a living testimony to the efficiency of the system when properly administered, and is a tribute to the general zeal and ability of those to whom
the trust has been committed. I have already adverted to the salutary results
of the system in reviving and establishing on a fixed basis the agency of
Teachers' Institutes; and if this result were all that had been attained, it
would more than repay for the introduction of the system as a part of our
educational policy. But this is only a small part of the beneficent results
derived from the system. An officer of extended jurisdiction has a higher
and wider range of influence, is more generally consulted upon questions of
school policy, and in matters of school controversy, and his opinions and advice have a consequence and weight that cannot attach to a local officer of
limited jurisdiction."
During  the  year  the  acting  Superintendent visited
several  of  the  schools  in  the  cities  of  New  York,
Brooklyn, Syracuse, Buffalo, Oswego, Rochester, Auburn,
and  Utica,  in  addition  to  attending  the  sessions of
forty Institutes; and, on these several occasions, addressed audiences amounting  in the aggregate to twelve
or  fifteen  thousand   persons.   In  reference  to  these
official visitations, he says:
" The Hon. Henry S. Randall, Superintendent of Schools, in his last report to the Legislature in 1853, urging the policy of a separate and distinct
organization of this Department, enforces his recommendation in the following language:
" The Superintendent, if charged with no other duties, might attend occasional examinations of congregated or single schools, and occasional town
or county inspections of teachers. IIe might be present at school celebrations, Teachers' Associations, Teachers' Institutes, and official meetings of town
superintendents. He might constantly meet and mingle with the friends of
education, and the practical workers in the business of education, conferring
and receiving benefit by the interchange of views; weeding out the worthless
teachers, rousing the inert, and giving just credit and prominence to the deserving. He might pass from county to county, drawing the school officers
of each about him, addressing assemblages of the people, and calling parental
and public attention to the improvement of the schools."
"In this view of the nature and scope of the duties of this Department I
fully concur, although the unusual labor imposed upon me in the discharge
of both its principal and subordinate duties have prevented me from carrying
this policy into execution as fully as I had desired and hoped.
"I had planned a visitation of all the cities in the State, so many as practicable of the larger villages, and, in different counties, a fair representative
number of the exclusively rural districts. These comprise three distinct




350                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
grades or classes of schools, in respect to organization, administration, pecuniary resources, and other distinctive and essential elements of vigor and
effectiveness. From careful observations, in a few only of each class, a fair
idea may be formed of the general practical workings of our system in all.
It was my purpose, in these visitations, to note the relative efficiency of these
different classes of schools, as exhibited in their daily exercises, to observe and
to record their characteristic features of excellence or of imperfectness, and to
derive suggestions as to some possible and expedient means of incorporating
in all the peculiar and distinguishing excellences of each.  Partial as has
been the execution of my plan, the results fully confirm my previous convictions of the utility of extended visitations by the Superintendent.
" Much practical and useful information which can be obtained from no
reports, however voluminous or minute in statement, may be acquired; the
public are stimulated, awakened, and encouraged to investigate concerning
the importance of improving the condition of their schools; thoughts, views,
and opinions are freely interchanged to mutual edification and profit, and the
conclusions made a basis of suggestions as an example or a warning to
others."
Upon  the  subject of "Object Teaching"  the acting
Superintendent  makes   the   following   pertinent  suggestions:
"A growing conviction has taken possession of thinking and observing
minds that what the great mass of our people require is less a knowledge of
facts from books than the power to use books intelligently in connection witRh
all other means and sources of information.  Close confinement of pupils in
schools five or six hours of the day, with the mind unoccupied and left to
wander wearily in dreamy inaction, devoid of method or plan, catching its
fancies and sporting them from the memory of out-door joys; or joining the
class for a few minutes each day to confront the strange and mysterious
symbols that puzzle and distract, rather than interest and inform-has long
been felt to be a poor preparation for the duties of life, wherein the power
to observe carefully, to think closely, to reason soundly, and to spbak clearly
is so indispensable to their competent discharge.
"And yet, with this conviction so generally entertained, our educational
effort has been marked by comparatively little progress or improvement in
methods of primary instruction. We have looked for educational improvement
in the effort to get more studies into the schools, and to get the children over
them more rapidly, rather than in any means for making a limited knowledge
of books of higher service in the work of education, through the discipline
wrought in the mind by its proper and thorough acquisition. Thus, more
branches have been introduced, and an endless variety of books in the same
branch  has been manufactured, our whole practice being predicated,
logically enough, upon the theory that true education is an extensive acquaintance with books; and hence, that educational improvement and progress are




PIFTH  PERIOD.-STATE TAXATION.                     351
only secured by the continued manufacture of new books, each of which
must be a little better or simpler than the last.
" The fallacy of this proceeding consists in the erroneous assumption that
books are the sole or chief agency in the educational work, especially in its
elementary stages. This has been the source of the errors and faults in our
systems of primary instruction that have rendered the results so unsatisfactory to all intelligent observers, but without suggesting any adequate remedy
for the evil.
" It was left for the distinguished educator and philosopher, Pestalozzi, to
originate, and to develop to some extent, a system of primary instruction more
in harmonny with nature and the laws of mind. This system, now more commonly known as "Object Teaching," and for many years successfully practiced
in the best schools of England and the Continent, proceeds upon the rational
assumption that the senses, the observing powers, are those through which
the child chiefly and naturally gains a notion of things; that is, obtains
information, knowledge, ideas. The reasoning and reflective powers are
latent in the mind of the young child, and are not brought into exercise
until later in life, when its stock  of ideas, its knowledge of things,
and its powers of apprehension are  so  far complete as to require
the use of these  higher intellectual agencies in conducting the further
investigations of the soul in the domain of ALL TRUTH. To address
these faculties, therefore, at an early age of the pupil's progress, is productive
of unfortunate results, chiefly in one of two ways: in a child of naturally
quick apprehension, these powers become unduly excited and stimulated;
one of slower apprehension becomes stolid and indifferent, discouraged by
want of success and disheartened by the sense of disgrace to which his backwardness exposes him.
" Guided by these principles, the system of O' Object Teaching   steadily
addresses itself to the faculties of observation; presenting before the child
familiar objects on which its attention is fixed-in the examination of which
it becomes interested-in the study of which habits of order, accuracy, and
thoroughness are formed, and the power of clear and correct expression of
ideas is acquired."
The  acting  Superintendent  called  the  attention  of
the Legislature to the appropriation by the Comptroller
of  the sum  of  $300,000, derived from  the  sale  by  the
State  of certain lands in  the city  of New  York, owned
by  them, to the General instead of the Common School
fund, in violation of the provisions of the Constitution.
A   spirited  and  able  protest against this  appropriation
was addressed  to  the  Comptroller by  Mr. KEYES, but
without avail.




352                COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
The   Comptroller  appears  to  have  held  that  the
lands in question did not belong to the State on the
first  day  of  January, 1823, and  hence  that  the  proceeds from their sale were not subject to the provisions
of the act of 1827, incorporating the provisions of the
Constitution, which  took  effect on that day; and  also
that the class of lands under water, to which those in
question belonged, had frequently been granted, without consideration, to riparian  owners, which  could  not
have  been  done  had  they  been  understood  to  form
part of the  capital of the  Common  School Fund.
To  the  first  of  these  allegations  Mr. KEYES  replies:
"I regard your first proposition, that the proceeds of the sale of these
lands are not a part of the Common School Fund, because they did not belong to the State on the first day of January, 1823, and hence were not subject to the provisions of the statute of 1827, as untenable for the following
reasons:
" 1. It recognizes the statute of 1827 as the only binding and conclusive
authority concerning the proceeds of the lands belonging to the State;
whereas, I rest my claim on behalf of the School Fund to the proceeds of
those lands upon the provisions of the Constitution, independent of any
legislative enactment.' The Constitution of 1822 defines and makes perpetual the Common
School Fund, and directs the application of its revenues. That fund is defined to embrace the accumulations of moneys for school purposes, under
various legislative enactments up to that time (constituting what was then
known as the Common School Fund), and the proceeds of all lands belonging to the State thereafter sold or disposed of. These two items, therefore,
to wit, the old Common School Fund, embracing all the accumulations up to
that time, and the proceeds of the sales of State lands, constituted the new
perpetual Common School Fund of the Constitution of 1846.
" The Constitution of 1846 makes the capital of that fund, as above defined, inviolate. It need not, indeed it could not, well do more. What should
constitute the capital of the Common School Fund had been defined, accepted, and acted upon, without question or dissent, by the Legislature
and by the public at large, for nearly twenty-five years. In making inviolate the capital of the Common School Fund, therefore, the Constitution of 1846 made inviolate the accumulations up to that time, and
the proceeds of all lands belonging to the State thereafter sold or disposed
of, together with the increase of capital derived from the revenues of the
United States Deposit Fund.




FIFTH  PERIOD.-STATE TAXATION.                    353
"It will be observed that in this constitutional provision there is no limitation to lands belonging to the State in 1823, but a broad, unrestricted
declaration that the proceeds of all lands belonging to the State should, as a
part of the capital of the School Fund, be preserved inviolate. This provision of the new Constitution acts upon conditions existing at the time of its
adoption, and must be regarded as having its full force and effect as from
that date; hence it follows that if any question could arise as to the application of that provision to the proceeds of lands to which the State should acquire title subsequently to the adoption of that Constitution, it could only
arise as to the proceeds of lands of which the State has become owner since
the first day of January, 1847. It will be conceded by you, I presume, that
these lands have been the property of the State ever since they were formed.
This was certainly anterior to 1847, at least with regard to most of them;
and hence, even upon your assumption that the title of the State has vested
since 1823, they are still subject to the constitutional requirements of 1846,
which directs that the proceeds of all lands belonging to the State, as a part
of the capital of the Common School Fund, shall be preserved inviolate.'' 2. But further upon your first proposition. This embraces two assumptions. The first is, that the State had no title to these lands on the first day
of January, 1823. The second is, that having no title at that time, the proceeds are not a part of the Common School Fund, because the statute of 1827
designates only such lands as were owned by the State in 1823. I have endeavored to expose the fallacy of the latter, by showing that the claim of the
Common School Fund does not rest upon the statute of 1827, but upon the
Constitution of 1846, re-adopting certain provisions in that of 1822; and
hence, that title or ownership on the 1st of January, 1823, is not material.
" I now desire to establish the fact that the title of the State to these
lands which have been sold is of much older date than 1823; and that
hence, if the provisions of the statute of 1827 were the only ones under which
the Common School Fund could claim these proceeds, the claim would still
be valid and incontrovertible."
He then proceeds to show that the title to the property in question  "vested  when  allegiance to  the  British  government ceased and  our own  State  sovereignty
was  declared  and   established  through  constitutional
forms.  The  State  succeeded  the  Crown, as sovereign
proprietor of all  the  unappropriated  lands  within  its
borders; hence, the title of the State to  those  lands is
as old  as the  sovereignty  of the  State  itself."
In reference to the peculiar character of the lands
originally lying under water, and forming a part of the
bed  of  the  Hudson  and  East  rivers, the  acting  Sn23




354                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
perintendent contended  that, inasmuch  as the  title  of
the   State  was  perfect  and   undisputed   previous  to
emergence,  the   fact  of  such   subsequent  emergence
could  in  no  manner  have  affected  it, except by  simply rendering the land marketable.
In  concluding  his report, Mr. KEYES observes:
" The necessity of ample provision for the education of the people, under
institutions where the people are the government, was never so forcibly
demonstrated as in the events of the last few months.  *    *    *    We
have ever held it true that the education of our children is the hope of our
land. In our State we have to no inconsiderable degree acted upon the conviction, and have liberally provided the means whereby the blessings of education should be universally diffused. And we have all along pointed to the
results of this policy as demonstrating its wisdom. The enterprise of our
people, their wonderful achievements, the expansion of trade, the astonishing
accumulations of industrial force, the increase and diffusion of wealth and the
comforts and luxuries it can purchase, the diffusion of general intelligence
through the medium of books, magazines, and newspapers; and, more than
these, the institutions of the church, the lyceum, and the social circle, the
habits of honesty, industry, and peace, which make crime, idleness, and riot
exceptional; our domestic character, our social order, our literary taste —all
have been referred back to the school as their great patron, promoter, and
source. So strong has been this conviction that upon the school-that is,
upon the knowledge, the culture, and the discipline which it imparts-all our
progress, our freedom, our prosperity, and our peace, have depended, that
the sentiment in favor, not of education simply, but of the Common School,
the school for the people, the national nursery of truth, intelligence, and
loyalty-the sentiment in favor of this popular institution has become not
only fixed but all-pervading.
" How humiliating would be the fact that, while in possession of all the
elements of prosperity and power which are ours this day; while an expanding commerce still spreads her sails upon our waters or furls them in our
ports; while our manufactories were never so prosperous, and our soil never
teemed with more abundant harvests; while our public works yield a revenue unparalleled in the annals of the State; while the busy hum of industry,
the cheer of festivity, and the merry laugh of joy still ring in our ears in
notes scarcely broken by the discordant echoes from the seat of war-that,
amid all these evidences of prosperity, the first sad and sickening confession
of prostration and weakness should be found in the neglect to provide for the
elevation and improvement of our educational system, Proud, as yet, and
untarnished, is the escutcheon of the'EMPIRE STATE' "
"It is a most gratifying evidence of the soundness of our judgment and of
the purity of our patriotism that nowhere has a desire for relaxation of vigor




FIFTH  PERIOD.-STATE TAXATION.                    355
and energy in the support of popular education been suggested. The term
of school has not been shortened because of the war, and it has nowhere
been made a pretext for the employment of incompetent teachers. Educational gatherings have not been deferred, but have been well attended, and
their deliberations have been marked by a spirit and earnestness unsurpassed
in former years.  As already seen, the attendance at Teachers' Institutes
was greater than ever before, and the spirit of our people was never more
thoroughly alive to the necessity of educational improvements."




SIXTH PERIOD-1862 TO 1871.
FREE SCHOOL TRIUMPH.
SECTION I.- SECOND ADMINISTRATION  OF SUPERINTENDENT
VICTOR M. RICE-I862 TO I868.
Recapitulation.-District Libraries.-Condition of the Schools.-Teachers' Institutes.-Oswego Normal and Training  School.-State
Mill  Tax.-Free School-Rate-Bills.-Application of Library
Money to Teachers' Wages.-Code of Public Instruction.-Condition of School-Houses.-Apportionment of Public Money.-Female Teachers.  Teachers' Classes in academies.-Normal Schools.
— ppraisement of School-House Sites.-Irregular Attendance of
Pupils.-Number of Uneducated Children.-Increase of State Tax.
-Abolition of the Rate-Bill System.- Truant Children.-Free
School Act of 1867. Teachers' Associations.  Union Schools.Cornell University.
jW   E  approach now  the  final phase  in  the existing
system  of Common  Schools.  Step  by  step  we
have been led forward, under the guidance of mighty
minds, from  one advanced height to another, overcoming formidable obstacles, setting aside numerous impediments,  surmounting  all  adverse  influences,  until
we  have  finally  reached  the  crowning  table-land  of
our view, and  can look  forward, far in  the distance,
and  around  us  on  every  side,  over  the magnificent
prospect.
To GIDEON  HAWLEY, the  first  Superintendent,  is
due the earliest organization of the system.  Gen. Dix
engrafted upon it the DISTRICT  LIBRARY  feature; but
neither he  nor his predecessors appear to  have felt
the want of a more complete and perfect SUPERVISION.
The  perspicuous mind  of SPENCER  seized  upon  this
idea, and  with  characteristic  energy  reorganized  the
entire system  upon this basis; but even he could not




SIXTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL TRIUMPH.       35T
be induced to see the necessity or conceive the utility
of NORMAL TEACHING; and Col. YOUNG, frankly accepting and adopting all the advanced ideas of his
predecessor, superadded to the system  this important
feature, together with that of TEACHERS' INSTITUTES.
Neither of these great men  however, seem  to have,
at any  time, entertained  the  conception  of FREE
SCHOOLS, the germ  of which had been implanted by
DE WITT CLINTON, in the foundation of the New York
Public School Society, as early as 1805. Superintendent BENTON struck the key-note of this movement,
and his successor, CHRISTOPHER MORGAN, promptly and
enthusiastically adopted and carried it into immediate
effect. In his intrepid and uncalculating haste, however, to realize at once the full benefit of this great
principle, his "vaulting  ambition  o'erleaped  itself,"
and a temporary reaction followed upon an apparently
brilliantly successful campaign. Flaunting the popular banner of FREE SCHOOLS, and loudly asserting and
proclaiming  its "strange device,"  the  odious RATEBlU system, once expelled in the full flush  of victory, like another Bourbon, resumed  its unwelcome
dynasty; and for a long interval excluded from  the
temples of popular instruction thousands upon thousands of the children of the poor, while taunting them
with the promise of free and universal education- It
was reserved  for VICTOR M. RICE to touch as with
the spear of Ithuriel this heartless monster of hypocrisy  and oppression.  After securing the restoration
of the essential pillar of COUNTY SUPERVISION, which
had been ruthlessly thrown down by unreflecting apathy, indifference, and prejudice; after displaying  the
official record that in nearly eight of the eleven thousand school districts in the State not a solitary in



358            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
stance of exemption of indigent parents from the merciless severity of the rate-bill could be traced, he unrolled the magic words of the law, which, like that of the
Medes and Persians, had "altered not" in these long
years of misrule: "THE COMMON SCHOOLS IN  THE
SEVERAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS OF THIS STATE SHALL BE
FREE TO ALL PERSONS OVER FIVE AND UNDER TWENTYONE YEARS OF AGE  RESIDING  IN  THE  DISTRICT."
"Free! Yes-free in the same sense that good dinners
at our best hotels are free. They are free to all who will
pay a good price for them!" And therewith this clearheaded, warm-hearted, and simple-minded man, boldly
threw down his gage of mortal defiance, wrested from
the oppressor his lying standard, flung to the breeze
the true banner of freedom, and demanded at the hands
of the Legislature the actual recognition of those substantial fruits of victory fairly won in the well-contested
campaigns of 1849-50: "That the general'school laws be
so amended that the odious rate-bill shall no longer prevent
children from going to school; THAT THE SCHOOLS SHALL
BE AS FREE TO ALL OF PROPER AGE AND CONDITION AS
THE AIR AND THE SUNLIGHT!" And he succeeded! The
"air and the sunlight" now, alas! gently wave and
sweetly sleep over his premature grave; but his imperishable record remains, and no time shall ever be
able to obliterate its grand inscription!
It only remains for his successors faithfully to preserve the precious heritage which has thus been handed
down by the great minds which have preceded them, to
rescue from  dilapidation  and  desecration each pillar
of the stately fabric, which the  crumbling touch of
time, or the neglect or want of appreciation of its
guardians, has suffered to decay, and to transmit to
the latest posterity that bequest of FREE and UNI



SIXTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL TRIUMPH.         359
VERSAL EDUCATION which has been confided to their
hands. The "mantle of the prophets" now  rests on
worthy  and  vigorous  shoulders.  May  it never be
otherwise!
Early in February, 1862, the Hon. VICTOR 3I. RICE
was re-elected  Superintendent of Public Instruction.
SAMUEL D. BARR, Esq., of Westchester, was appointed
Deputy.
From the annual report of the Superintendent for
1863, it appeared that the whole number of pupils under
instruction in the Common Schools of the State, during
the preceding year, was 892,550; the number of teachers employed 26,500, of whom  7,585 were males, and
18,915 females; the whole amount of public money expended in the payment of teachers' wages, $2,780,371.05,
of which $1,220,497.26 had been expended in the cities
and $1,559,873.79 in the rural districts; the whole amount
raised by taxes $2,068,057.74, of which $1,560,456.40 was
raised in the cities, and $507,601.35 in the rural districts, exclusive of $407,000 raised by rate-bill; and
the whole amount of public money apportioned by the
State $1,408,532.45. The actual expenditure for maintaining the schools, including the costs of sites, school
houses,  apparatus   and  incidental  expenses,  was
$3,955,664.33, of which $1,969,806.35 was expended in
the cities and $1,985,857.98 in the rural districts. The
number of volumes in the several district libraries was
1,326,682.
The condition of these libraries appeared to have
undergone an unfavorable change. The Commissioners
in nearly every section of the State reported them as
little used and steadily deteriorating  in  value. The
small share  of public money  received  in  a great
majority of the rural districts for library purposes,




360             COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
averaging only about $3.00 annually, was scarcely sufficient to replace the books worn out by use; while it
was only in the large villages and more populous towns
that the libraries were regularly replenished and properly  appreciated.  Ineffectual efforts had been made
in the more sparsely  settled towns to consolidate the
several district libraries into  one  town  library; and
various suggestions for their improvement and increase
had been, from  time to time, made. In some of,the
cities legislative authority had been given to appropriate  the library  money, wholly  or in part, to the
payment of teachers' wages; and no sufficient reason
appeared why the  inhabitants of the rural districts
might not be entrusted with this discretionary power.
The  Superintendent, however,  declined  making  any
specific recommendation on the subject at this time.
From  the annual report of the Superintendent for
1864, it appeared that under the acts of 1862 and 1863,
for the  encouragement of Teachers' Institutes, fiftyfive of these "temporary Normal Schools"  had been
held during the preceding year in forty-seven counties
of the State, for periods of two weeks and upwards,
in which  over 9,000 teachers had received instruction,
being  84 per cent. of the whole number of teachers
employed in the several Commissioners' districts represented.  An  additional Normal or  Traiining  School
had been established, under the authority of the Legisture, in the city  of Oswego, for the preparation of
primary Common School teachers.
In reference to the State tax of three-fourths of a mill
for the support of schools, the Superintendent observes:
"The argument for a State tax is grounded upon the fraternal relation
and obligations established by the Creator among men, and promulgated in
that epitome of all wise conduct, the' Golden Rule:''Whatsoever ye would




l                              -t X —-   = ~~~~~~~~~~ —-=:    =L  --—: —----— 1_
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ —-f ax  l11
m~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~hl An-ii-~ -
OSWEGO INFORMAL SCHOOL.ji~iiiiiiii:~








SIXTH  PERIOD. —FREE  SCHOOL TRIUMPH.                    361
that others should do unto you, do ye even so unto them.'  To feed the
hungry, to clothe the naked, and to alleviate human sufferings generally, is
an acknowledged duty; and whoever possesses the power, and neglects or
refuses to do it, disobeys the Divine injunction, and thus does violence to his
own enlightened conscience. And if any man apprehends that his brother
will be in distress to-morrow or next year, or years hence, and has the power
to make provision against such distress, by aiding him in becoming more enlightened and better, or in any other way, and neglects or refuses to do so, he
just as clearly sets at nought that abiding rule, and the generous promptings
of his better nature, as if he were to deny to a thirsty person a cup of water,
or a morsel of bread to the hungry. In the one case, it is true, the suffering
is present, and in the other prospective; but both are within the compass of
his understanding, and it is, therefore, equally his duty to alleviate the one,
and provide against the occurrence of the other. Surely the rule of action
which is binding upon one man in the case stated, is equally applicable to
ten, an hundred or a thousand men, and to the whole people as an organized State. Every intelligent man knows that ignorance is the mother of disobedience, whence follow the frailties and miseries of mankind; that proper
culture begets understanding, whence follow the greatest development of the
natural powers and the highest enjoyment. It is, therefore, the duty of every
man, and no less the duty of the whole people, to use every available means
to save the rising generations from ignorance and its attendant calamities, by
making ample provision for their highest development and consequent extensive usefulness.' A Christian State can not innocently disregard its obligations to protect
the weak, to instruct the young, and to help the poor and dependent; nor
can it innocently neglect to provide for its own safety, by providing for the
safety and happiness of those composing it. The Legislature which provides
for the definition, detection, and punishment of crimes, has done but half its
duty; it is bound also to make provision against the commission of crime;
and for this object, experience proves that the school and the school-master
are more effective agencies than the detective police and the terrors of the
law. Whilst it is not pretended that the best culture acquired in the schools
is the sole means for the prevention of crime, yet it is abundantly proved by
criminal statistics that the majority of those who suffer the penalty of violated
law are ignorant, have not had the advantages of systematized instruction,
have never been subjected to the smoothing and softening influence of obedience and discipline, and have never had their time or conduct regulated
by wise authority; but, on the contrary, have grown up unlettered and in the
unrestrained indulgence of their appetites and baser passions. It is also as
clearly proved that crime, vice, and disloyalty are most prevalent in those
countries, and those parts of a country, where there is the least general education; whilst in those communities which have more nearly complied with
their obligations to make provision for the instruction of the young in useful
knowledge, there has always been, as there doubtless will ever be, the greatest regard for law and order, the most rational liberty, and, as a sequence,




3G2                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
the greatest individual and national prosperity and happiness. No State,
which had provided common schools and higher institutions of learning for
the education of her people, could have made war upon our Government, or
attempted to tear down the good old flag, the emblem of liberty and union.
No! Intelligence foresees the danger, and shuns it; while Ignorance leads her
followers blind-fold into the very abyss of ruin.
" The general State tax produces a result which is sometimes overlooked.
It compels those to perform  their duty who would not, except upon legal
compulsion. If the education of children were left entirely to the voluntary
action of individuals, would not a great many, who now pay their just proportion for the support of schools, refuse or neglect to pay anything at all?
-Would not the whole burden then, if borne at all, fall upon the generous, the
patriotic, the men of noble hearts? Surely such would be the result if, the
principle were abandoned, that,' the property of the State should educate the
children of the State.' But experience has taught that the liberal and willing contributors to even so great a good, are not equal to the task which
would be thus imposed upon them, and that tens of thousands would soon
lack an opportunity of acquiring even the first rudiments of an education
essential to the safe exercise of the right of franchise.
"This State tax, thanks to an enlightened public sentiment, lays hold of
the property of the selfish and unwilling supporters of the public welfare, in
whatever small corner they may have hoarded it: it extracts therefrom their
equal share in the expense of educating all the children of the State.
" The law imposing this tax has also the distinguishing merit of recognizing and inculcating a common brotherhood; that it is the bounden duty
of the people of any part of the State to have the same solicitude for the welfare of those in every other part thereof, however remote, as they have for
themselves; and its instructions are given with the majesty of an irresistible
authority. It teaches the unity of the State, and a mutual dependence and
obligation, in proportion to ability, to provide for the common weal; that
the richer localities, where capital has concentrated on account of natural or
artificial advantages, shall contribute of their abundance to the poorer, to
those counties less favored by location and special legislation for school and
other purposes. No county, not even New York, which pays a large sum
annually to such counties as Otsego, Delaware, Schoharie, Franklin, Clinton,
and St. Lawrence, has a right to complain. For the rule that would set off
New York by itself, and free it from this tax, would also free every ward in
that city from the city tax for the same purpose, and an individual in any
ward could claim, with equal propriety, exemption from taxation for the support of schools therein; and, following the same blind guide, he might claim
exemption from every other tax imposed on account of the necessities and
duties of an organized community. He could say to his neighbors and to
the inhabitants of his ward, city, and State,'I will take care of myself, and
you may take care of yourselves;' and this rule having obtained, all organized action, regulated by law, would be at an end. I repeat, no part of the
State has a right to complain of this tax. It is levied because it is the duty




SIXTH  PERIOD. —FREE SCHOOL TRIUMPH.                  363
of the State to provide for the education of her children; and duty and right
being correlative terms, her children have a right to demand that the doors
of the school-houses shall be opened for their reception, and that competent
teachers be employed to instruct them. The fact of their inability to enforce
the observance of their rights in this respect, in the halls of legislation,
has not heretofore failed, and, it is confidently believed, will never fail to
bring to their aid the conscientious, patriotic, and intelligent representatives
of the people.
"The amount appropriated by the State for the support of schools for
last year, including the proceeds of this tax and the revenue derived from
the Common School and U. S. Deposit Funds, was less than one dollar and
forty-three cents per pupil in attendance  upon the schools-a sum hardly
within the bounds of liberality-and yet sufficiently large to aid materially
the rural districts of the State. How general is the conviction that the common schools, in which more than ninety per cent. of our people obtain all
their instruction, must be supported under the most depressing circumstances, is evinced by the liberal support extended to them during the past
year, by the people themselves in their district school meetings, and through
their local authorities. It will be observed that, during that time, there were
raised by local taxation and by rate bill, in the rural districts, $866,922.33,
and in the cities, $2,068,057.74, for their support. In no other way could the
will of the people, in regard to the schools, have been more forcibly or fully
manifested; and it is believed that the abandonment of a policy in furtherance
of their will thus expressed-a policy to which they have been so long accustomed, and which has for its object the prosperity and independence of
their children-could not meet with their approval.
"In conclusion, we would earnestly remind all those who take an interest
in the public weal, that there is no doctrine of political ethics better established or more emphatically confirmed by the events of the present era than
the one tritely expressed in the maxim that'the salvation of a republican
and democratic form of government depends upon the virtue and intelligence of the people to whom its administration is committed.' We would
spare not in our efforts to warn legislators and every parent and guardian of
the young,against the ever-impending peril of suffering the paramount duty of
inculcating the proper education of the young to be in any degree neglected.
Harmony, prosperity, and happiness will certainly attend upon the vigilant
fulfillment of this duty; anarchy, poverty, and misery, will, as surely, be entailed by its neglect."
The  Legislature  of  this  year authorized  the  application   of  the  library  money,  in  all  those  districts
receiving less than $3.00 a year for this purpose-eleven
thousand  in  all-to  the  payment  of  teachers' wages,
and  in  all other  districts  to  the  purchase  of  school




364            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
apparatus, and this being supplied, to teachers' wages.
So far as the rural districts were concerned, and most
of the city schools, this enactment was virtually equivalent to an entire abandonment of the library systemmanifestly and unquestionably a retrograde movement.
It is earnestly to be hoped that before the million of
volumes still remaining in the twelve thousand districts
of the State shall have disappeared, this great and
beneficent feature of our Common School system  will
be restored  and placed upon  a permanent and improved footing.
The consolidated "Code of Public Instruction," prepared and reported by the Superintendent, with the
aid of the Hon. GEORGE W. CLINTON, of Buffalo, was
this year passed into a law, and distributed, with the
necessary forms and instructions, among the several
districts of the State.
In February, 1865, Mr. RICE was again re-elected
Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Mr. BARR
remained in the position of Deputy.  He was a most
able, faithful, and efficient public officer, and possessed
the entire confidence of the Superintendent.  From the
annual report of the Superintendent transmitted to the
Legislature on the 7th of February, 1865, it appeared
that the number of school districts was 11,717; the
amount of money expended during the preceding year
for building, purchasing, hiring, repairing, and insuring
school-houses, for purchasing sites, and for fences, outhouses, &c., was $647,301.23, of which $370,815.34 was
expended in the cities, and $276,485.89 in the rural
districts.  The provisions of the act of 1864 had contributed essentially to the improvement of the schoolhouses, and the sentiment of the inhabitants of the
district in regard to them.  "Those utterly unfit for




SIXTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL TRIUMPH.        365
the use of man or beast," observes the Superintendent, "have in a few instances been condemned by the
united action of Commissioners and Supervisors, while
a very large number have, by their direction, been repaired  and provided, as they never were before, with
proper fuel, pails, brooms, and other implements necessary to keep them  clean and render them  reasonably
comfortable for use.  It is gratifying to report these
improvements, in view  of their influence upon  the
comfort, morals, and memories of the pupils.  I may
be pardoned for cherishing the hopeful anticipation
that within a few years, through the beneficent operations of that law, and a more enlightened public
sentiment,'the school-house spot,' in every neighborhood of this great State, will be made so attractive
that the young will approach it with willing steps,
and with the joyous assurance  of a welcome from
accomplished teachers, who will truly love and care
for them."
The number of volumes in the district libraries was
1,125,438.  The amount of public money expended for
this purpose was $26,890.51, and for school apparatus
$137,613.49, of which $128,447.79 was expended in the
cities, and only $8,626.17 in the rural districts.  The
number of children in attendance upon the Common
Schools during the year reported was 882,184. Adding
to this number the pupils of the several colleges, academies, and private schools, there still remained 336,000
of suitable school age not in attendance upon  any
school, public or private, during the year.
The Legislature of 1864 had, on the recommendation  of the Superintendent, provided by law that a
specific portion  of the public  school money should
thereafter be apportioned among the several districts,




366                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
upon  the  basis of average daily attendance, tlereby making  it  the  pecuniary  interest  of  every  tax-payer  to
induce  the  regular  attendance   of  his  own   and  his
neighbors' children.   This  provision  had  largely  increased  the  number  of  pupils  and  the  regularity  of
their attendance.   The  average  time  during  which  the
schools were kept open was seven months in  the rural
districts, and  ten  months in  the  cities.   Nearly  eighttenths  of  the whole number  of  teachers employed  in
the State were females.
"It is impossible," observes the Superintendent, "to over-estimate the
value of the influence thus brought to bear upon the daily developing mind
and character in our schools. To teach and train the young seems to be one
of the chief missions of woman. Herself high-minded, the minds of those
with whom she comes in daily contact unconsciously aspire. Gentle herself,
she renders them gentle. Pure herself, she makes them pure. The fire which
truly refines the ore of character can be kindled only by her hand. Woman
is more deeply read than man in the mysteries of human nature-at least, in
that of children. It might, perhaps, be nearer the truth to say that her superior
knowledge in this respect is intuitive. Better her discipline of love than his
reformatory theories, and austere rules, and stringent systems. Her touch conquers the rebelliousness which his but increases. Her persuasive reproofs far
exceed his stern menaces and cold logic. Well may we be solicitous in regard
to that pupil's course and destiny who does not pass from the scene of woman's ministrations with his moral sense so delicately attuned as to render
the discords of a vicious life impossible; with his tastes vitalized, and his
perceptions quickened; with his sensibilities and sympathies all ready for
action; with his conscience trained to unremitting vigilance, and the best
impulses of his heart in full play. I am sure that the future will be grateful
for these labors of woman in our schools."
The  amount  expended  for  teachers' wages  during
the  year  was  upwards  of three  millions  of  dollars,
nearly  equally  divided  between  the  city  and  country
districts,  and  exceeding  by  $367,500,  the  amount  so
expended   during   the  preceding   year.   The  amount
raised by taxes for school purposes, was $2,668,079.29,
of  which  nearly  $2,000,000  was  raised  in  the  cities;
while  on  the  other  hand,  $429,892.52  was  raised  on




SIXTH PERIOD —FREE SCHOOL TRIUMPH.          367
rate bills, in the rural districts, making their total contributions upwards of one million of dollars.
The sum  of $1,445,749.70 was apportioned from  the
State among the several districts, of which $1,125,749.90
was from the avails of the State  School tax, and the
balance from  the Common  School and United  States
Deposit Funds.  The  entire  receipts of the  several
districts from  all sources during the  year, including
the  balances remaining in the hands of their officers
from  the preceding year, were  $5,069,250.29. Deducting  similar  balances  for  the  year  reported, the
actual expenses of maintaining the schools during the
year were, $4,549,870.66, of which $2,477,446.36  were
expended  in the cities and $2,072,324.30 in the rural
districts, exceeding by  about $800,000 the amount so
expended during the preceeding year.
Teachers' classes  had been  formed in eighty-four
academies, designated by the  Regents of the University  for that purpose in  accordance with the Act of
1856, in which 351 male and 1,292 female pupils had
been instructed; and fifty-five Teachers' Institutes had
been held in the several counties, in which 7,524 pupils had  been  nstructed  during the  usual period of
two weeks.
"In  conclusion," the Superintendent observes, "I
am gratified to be able to report that the evidences of
an increasing solicitude for the proper instruction of the
young are accumulating in all parts of the State; and
that even while making great and  painful sacrifices,
and herculean  efforts to  save the life of the Republic, our people, true to duty, and faithful to their posterity, have not remitted any of their interest in the
schools."
The annual report of the Superintendent for 1866,




368                COIMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
showed an increase in the number of districts to 11,780,
and of the number of children instructed during the preceding year, to 881,184, or 35,443 over 1864.  The amount
of  money  expended  for  sites for building, purchasing,
repairing, hiring, and  insuring   school-houses, and  for
fences, out-houses, &c., during  the year reported, was
$799,160.70, of which  $516,902.04  was expended  in  the
cities, and $282,258.66 in  the rural districts.
" The necessity of well-built, commodious, clean and airy school-houses,"
observes the Superintendent, " has been so often urged upon public attention,
that it would seem almost superfluous to mention it here; but so long as the
evils arising from ill-constructed, uncomfortable, unwholesome and dilapidated houses exist, so long must the demand for improvement be reiterated till
reform be consummated. Not only should the prime laws of health be regarded and obeyed in this matter, but the moral obligation to furnish all rational means to correct, purify, and cultivate the taste of the young should be
recognized. The love of beauty in some of its myriad forms is inherent in
every human breast not vitiated by corrupt surroundings; hence the philosophy no less than the propriety of making our school-houses temples of
beauty, as they are temples of knowledge.
" There is a golden link between beauty and utility, and the expense of
embellishing school-rooms and school-grounds is trifling, compared with the
beneficial and refining influence of such care upon those plastic natures
which must be molded into the men and women of future generations.
Every'live' teacher knows the pleasure with which even the smallest pupils greet a rich bouquet on the desk, or the joy with which a cherished bud
is watched as it unfolds its hidden glories to the light, or their absorbing interest in the disposition of festooned evergreens for a holiday or a gala occasion, or the rapture which the inaugural of the new school piano awakens
when it breathes a simple school ballad, or thrills all hearts with the inspiration of the Star-Spangled Banner. Who has not, in the most cherished
dreams of childhood, the memory of some flower-laden, climbing vine, some
favorite tree or shrub, on some green spot around which cluster the holiest
associations? If such testimony be universal, and such influence potent for
good, what so proper to decorate with trees and flowers as the school-house
grounds, or where so appropriate to bestow works of art and taste as the
school-room, or what more important to the happiness and improvement of
the young, than the school-house built with a strict regard to beauty and
utility, and made peculiarly attractive by such surroundings and embellishments? "
The  amount  expended   for  teachers'  wages   was
$3,976,093.43,  of which  $1,932,438.26  was expended  by




SIXTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL TRIUMPH.                 369
the cities, and $2,043,655.17 in the rural districts, being an increase of $882,632.97 over the preceding year.
The  average  annual salaries of the teachers employed
were $563.70 in the cities and $169.34 in  the rural districts.  The  amount raised  by local taxation for school
purposes, during  the year was $3,501,070.20, of  which
$2,655,544.45 were  raised in  the cities  and  $845,525.75
in  the  rural  districts.  The  sum   of  $655,158,78  was
also  contributed  on  rate-bills  in  the  latter  districts,
making  the entire amount raised in these, $1,500,684.53.
The whole amount  of public money  received  from  the
State was $1,446,000.00, of which  $1,126,000.00 was derived  from  the  State  School Tax, and  $320,000  from
the  Common School and United States Deposit Funds.
The  total  actual expense  of  maintaining  the  several  Common  Schools  of  the State  for the  year was
$5,735,460.24, of which  $3,084,357.69 was  borne  by  the
cities, and $2,651,102.55 by the rural districts.
In reference to sites for school-houses the Superintendent observes:
"It is both reason and law that the rights of individuals to private property must yield to public necessity. Therefore the sovereign people, through
the action of the Legislature, may rightfully assume the control and ownership of private property for public use, providing therefor a just compensation to the owner.
"The State of New York knows that the education of her children is a
matter of great public concern, and a sacred duty which she cannot innocently neglect. The children must, therefore, have school-houses, and the
property of the people is taken to provide them; these school-houses must
have sites-grounds whereon to stand-and the property of the people is
taxed to pay for them. It is also a matter of public concern that the site of
the school-house should be central, in a healthy location, and conveniently accessible for the attendance of the children; but in very many instances, as reported to this Department by those seeking relief, such desirable situation is
owned by some gruff old bachelor who has spent his lonely years in inconsiderately repeating by word and deed,' You take care of yourself, and I'll take
care of myself;' or, by some unenlightened and parsimonious landlord, who,
to avoid the payment of a few dollars towards building a new school-house,
24




3 0                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
utterly refuses for any consideration, or at least for any reasonable consideration, to part with the spot of ground which would best accommodate his
own and his neighbor's children.
"The old school-houses, rudely built forty or fifty years ago by our fathers
and our grand-fathers, are now very generally unfit for any use; and owing
to the changes which have taken place in the boundaries of districts, and
in the number and location of residences, many of these sites, originally selected with little care as to their fitness, have ceased to be acceptable to the
people; and others, which were well chosen, and which, with some additions
from adjoining lands, might be made to accommodate the many, have as yet
no play-grounds, and are of too small dimensions to admit even of the erection of the out-buildings demanded by propriety and decency. This last deficiency must greatly enhance the present urgent demand for the acquisition
and appropriation of suitable sites for new school-houses, and for the enlargement of the grounds of old ones.  The difficulty of getting possession of suitable grounds for these purposes will probably remain insurmountable, unless a law be passed by which, for a just compensation, such lands
may be taken and appropriated to such public use.
" The sites of our school-houses should be chosen in places that are both
convenient and pleasant; and where any land-owner plants himself in the
way of obtaining such, the law should lay hands on him and remove him;
thus enforcing the conviction that there is, for the children of this country, a
grand highway to learning which no man may obstruct."
It appeared  from  the  reports made  to  the  Department, that there  were  565,901 children  residing  in the
State  between  the  ages of  six and  seventeen  years,
not in  attendance  upon  any  school during  the year!
In  his comments upon  this startling  fact,  the  Superintendent,  after  alluding  to  the  loss  in  a pecuniary
point of view from this neglect on the part of parents
and  guardians to avail themselves of  the facilities afforded by the State for the education  of their children,
observes:
" Great as this loss appears, thus estimated, it is infinitely greater when
regarded in a mental and moral point of view. What is lost is of too precious a nature to admit of measurement by any commercial standard of value.
It is personal and direct to the children losing the instruction and its power
for usefulness, and it subtracts just so much from the sum total of what
should be the uniued power and wisdom of the future. The harvest time of
youthl is lost, and often times supplanted by damage and mischief. Human
happiness, all the beneficial results which must surely flow from a knowledge




SIXTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL  TRIUMPH.                    371
of their political duties as citizens of a free country, from a proper appreciation of the principles of social ethics, and from a conscientious understanding of the obligations of obedience to the wholesome restrictions and directions of laws, both human and divine —all are jeopardized, or lost, or worse
than lost.
" In whatever light presented, the fact of this non-attendance at the
schools should command the serious attention of the Legislature. To the
State and to the world this is of greater importance than all the canals, railroads and banks which deservedly occupy so much attention.'Instruction
is the good seed sown, which yieldeth some fifty and some an hundred
fold.'
"But the question arises, What are the practical remedies? I answer
that the time may come when the State will be obliged to make attendance
obligatory for her own safety. She may be obliged to do so, compelled by her
sense of duty to protect, in the enjoyment of their right in the schools, those
who are too young and dependent to protect themselves.  Surely, she can
allow neither the minds nor the bodies of her children to starve, when herself
blessed with abundance.
Granting that every child has a right to only so much instruction as
shall fit him for the most ordinary duties of the citizen and the man; then
the school, and the use of the time of his life when his activities are in full
play, are for him also; they are the means necessary to the end, and no parent or guardian can justly deprive him of either. No guardian is excusable
for starving the mortal body of his ward: if he does so, the law steps in and
deals with him, and no one complains of the humane interference, nor doubts
the rightful authority of the law. How much more reprehensible is the
wrong when, through  thoughtlessness, parsimoniousness or malevolence,
such starving process is inflicted upon the immortal mind!  And if this
starving  system  be persisted in after persuasive and all other corrective
measures have been tried and failed, who will question the just expediency
of a law to compel attendance upon school instruction?
"Such a law, however, should be the last resort. Invitation and persuasion are more in accordance with the genius of our institutions than the
exercise of compulsory power; and it seems to me that the wisdom of the
State should first undertake to make the schools so attractive, and mental
application so pleasant and its results so desirable, that the multitudes of
absentees and truants will voluntarily and cheerfully seek the school-room
with punctuality. A resort to measures requisite for such purposes is so unquestionably within the jurisdiction of legislative power, that objection
could not be raised.
"First, then, the State should make ample provision for the preparation
of teachers, who will, by all their words and deeds, command the attention
and gain the confidence and love of both parents and children. To secure
such preparation, many more normal and training schools should be established and provided with a sufficient support; teachers' institutes and associations should be encouraged; and the appropriation for the former should




372                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
be so increased, that two or more corps of skillful teachers can be constantly
employed in the different counties in giving instruction to the local teachers,
A comparatively small appropriation for this purpose would be of invaluable
service.  The salaries of the School Commissioners, also, should be so increased, as to enable them to devote their entire time to their noble work.
"Finally, the proposition that' the property of the State should educate
the children of the State,' should be carried out, by making the schools at
once and for all FREE. From the inception of our school system, the support
of schools by taxation of property has been sanctioned by successive legislative enactments.  Since that early period, by authority of statute law, the
property of school districts has been taxed for the purchase of sites, for erecting and furnishing school-houses, and for the payment of exemptions fiom
and deficiencies in rate bills. The Constitution of 1821 dedicated to the Common School Fund all the proceeds of the lands belonging to the State, and the
income therefrom, to the support of schools. The Constitution of 1846 confirms that dedication by declaring that the capital of that fund shall be preserved inviolate, and its revenues applied to the support of Common Schools.
and the provision is included, that $25,000 from  the revenue of the United
States Deposit Fund shall be annually added to the Common School Fund.
The Legislature of 1851, after the people had declared by an overwhelming
vote in favor of taxation for the entire support of the schools, or, in other
words, that the property of the State should educate the children of the
State, authorized a State tax of $800,000 for this purpose; and the Legislature of 1856 increased this amount by making the tax three-fourths of a mill.
Numerous special acts, based on the same just and wise policy, have been
passed from time to time, by means of which the schools of our cities and of
many of our villages, are supported wholly by taxation upon property.
Under authority of law, the people of other villages and thickly populated
districts have organized Union Free Schools; thus by voluntary action
sanctioning this policy, and acknowledging its justice.
" If the hundreds of thousands intellectually starved by the operation of
the odious rate-bill could rise up in contrast with those generously nourished
by the free system, the revolution in favor of the latter would become an'irrepressible conflict,' which would result in the total overthrow  of that
slavish love of gain, which denies the common brotherhood of man, and ignores the divine command,'Love thy neighbor as thyself.' I can conceive
no higher legislative obligation than that of making provisions by which the
portals to the school shall be thrown more widely open; because I know of
no other one mode by which attendance can be so generally encouraged in
the rural districts.
" I may be allowed, in this connection, to manifest a special anxiety for
the children of those soldiers and sailors who have died or been disabled
while serving in the army or navy of the United States, by recommending
that provision be made by which the Public Schools shall be required, and
all other other institutions of learning that participate in the distribution of
any of the public moneys be induced, to give them instruction free of tuition




SIXTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL TRIUMPH.                    373
fees. It is believed that this boon should be generously and freely extended
and made an inheritance, a right, recognized and secured by the majesty of
law. Surely a manifestation of an earnest gratitude for the services and sacrifices of their fathers would be worthy of a grateful people. How so
touchingly manifest that gratitude, as by such a provision for their children?
If in other times the life of this nation shall be again imperiled, where so
hopefully look for the loyal and the brave, as to these foster-children whose
incentive shall be, not only to imitate the manly and patriotic deeds of their
fathers, but to shield the Protectress, who, in their early years, folded them
in her arms with a loving kindness second only to that of Him who gave to
us the victory?"
In  reference  to  the condition of the Common School
Fund, the  Superintendent  calls  the  attention  of  the
Legislature  to  the  pending  controversy  between   the
Department and the Comptroller, originating during the
temporary administration  of Mr. KEYES, respecting the
appropriation  of $300,000, received  by  the  State  from
the  sale  of public  lands in  the  city of New  York, to
the   General, instead  of  the  Common   School  Fund,
where it was  claimed  properly  to  belong,  under  the
specific  provisions  of  the  Constitution.   The  Superintendent says:
" In the month of June, 1861, the State of New York, in consideration of
the sum of $300,000, conveyed to the corporation of the city of New York
certain lands owned by the State and situated in the city of New York,
known as the'West Washington Market,' the'Watts-street Pier,' the'Hubert-street Pier,' and a portion of the'Lowber property.' The proceeds
of this sale were, by the then Comptroller of the State of New York, Hon.
Robert Denniston, acting by the advice of the Attorney General, passed to the
credit of the General Fund. A protest against this proceeding was entered
at the time by the then acting Superintendent of Public Instruction, Emerson
W. Keyes, Esq.; which protest was in the shape of a memorial, addressed to
the Comptroller.
" It is claimed that the proceeds of this sale should have been placed to
the credit of the capital of the Common School Fund, under sec. 10, art. 7,
Constitution of 1822, and art. 9 of the Constitution of 1846.  Sec. 10, art. 7,
Constitution of 1822, is as follows:' The proceeds of all lands belonging to this State, except such parts
thereof as may be reserved or appropriated to public use or ceded to the
United States, which shall hereafter be sold or disposed of, together with the
fund denominated the Common School Fund, shall be and remain a per



3T4                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
petual fund, the interest of which shall be inviolably appropriated and applied to the support of common schools throughout this State.
"This provision was embodied in the Revised Statutes of 1827, in almost
the exact language above quoted.
" Article IX of the Constitution of 1846, reads as follows:'The capital of the Common School Fund, the capital of the Literature
Fund, and the capital of the United States Deposit Fund, shall be respectively preserved inviolate. The revenue of the said Common School Fund
shall be applied to the support of common schools; the revenue of the said
Literature Fund shall be applied to the support of academies; and the sum
of twenty-five thousand dollars of the revenues of the United States Deposit
Fund shall each year be appropriated to and made a part of the capital of
the said Common School Fund.'
" The lands in question originally lay under water, forming a part of the
bed of the Hudson and East Rivers, opposite the city of New York. The
State assumed ownership of one of these tracts of land on the 24th of April,
1858.
" It was claimed by the Comptroller, at the time of the transfer of this
property from the State to the city of New York, that the land in question
was not owned by the State at the time of the adoption of the Constitution
of 1822; and that, therefore, the act of the Legislature passed in 1827, embodying the constitutional provision, does not apply to this property; in
other words, that the constitutional provision affected only such lands as
were, at the time of the adoption of the Constitution, actually owned by the
State.
" But there are no words of limitation in the constitutional provision, confining its operation to lands then owned by the State; nothing but the broad,
all-embracing and positive declaration, that the proceeds of all lands belonging to the State should, as a part of the capital of the Common School Fund,
be preserved inviolate. The provision being unlimited, and being a portion
of the supreme law of the State, and having been substantially reproduced in
the Constitution of 1846, it is difficult to see wherein it was less binding in the
year 1861, when this transaction took place, than in 1823, when the old Constitution became the supreme law of the State. If the provision applied only
to lands actually owned by the State at the time of the adoption of the Constitution, then it may be said, with equal force, that sec. 1, art. 1, of our present Constitution, which declares that' No member of this State shall be disfranchised, or deprived of any of the rights or privileges secured to any citizen thereof, unless by the law of the land or the judgment of his peers,' applies to those persons only who were' members of the State' at the adoption
of the Constitution in 1846.
" But it is claimed that the title of the State to these lands extends far
back beyond 1823.
" In 1777, the State of New York assumed and thereafter sustained independent sovereignty, and succeeded the British government as owner of all
unoccupied lands within her boundaries.  These lands were at that time un



SIXTH  PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL TRIUMPH.                    375
occupied, and consequently they belonged to the State. It is true, they were
under water; but that fact in no way affected the title of the State. Ownership is limited neither by height nor depth. By the common law rule, the
owners of lands lying along and bounded by rivers not navigable, own to the
center of the stream, including all islands and the bed of the stream. So,
also, by the common law rule, which has been repeatedly declared adopted in
this State, where lands adjoin navigable rivers, the State owns the land from
ordinary high water mark, including the bed of the stream.
" I have called your attention to these transactions, fully impressed with
the belief that the Common School Fund is smaller by more than $300,000,
than it would have been, had the constitutional provision guaranteeing its
inviolability been strictly adhered to. I respectfully and earnestly request a
careful investigation of these matters at your hands."
In the same connection, the Superintendent adverted
to  a  loss  of about $4,000, alleged  to  have  been  sustained  by the  Fund, on  a  sale  made  by the  Commissioners  of the  Land  Office  of property in Binghamton,
bid off by the State on the foreclosure of a mortgage
given   on  a  loan  made  in  1858, in  pursuance  of law,
from  the  Common  School Fund  to  the  Susquehanna
Seminary in  that village.
These transactions were subsequently adverted to
in  the reports  of  the  Superintendent of  the  two  ensuing  years;  but  no  adjustment  of  the  controversy
seems to have  been  effected.
The  Superintendent  concludes  his  report  with  the
following  recommendations:
1. " That the general State tax for the support of schools be increased by
the addition of one-fourth of a mill on every dollar of valuation for the purpose of diminishing local or school district taxation for the same purpose.
2. " That the School law be so amended that the odious rate-bill shall no
longer prevent children from going to school; that the schools shall be as free to
all of proper age and condition, as the air and sunlight;
3. " That a commission be appointed to locate three or more normal and
training schools, for the special preparation of teachers, in such eligible places
as shall offer the greatest inducements, by way of buildings, school apparatus,
etc.; and that an appropriation be made for their efficient support;
4. "That provision be made by which the public schools shall be required, and all other institutions of learning which participate in the distri



376               COMMIION SCHOOL SYSTEM.
bution of the public moneys shall be induced, to give free instruction to the
children of soldiers and sailors who shall have died or been disabled, while
in service in the army or navy of the United States; and
5. " That an act be passed for the appraisal of and acquiring title to lands
designated for school-house sites."
Under a resolution of the Assembly, during the. preceding session, directing the Superintendent to "collect
all the  information  at his  command  respecting  the
methods by which other States of the Union and the
Governments  of  Europe  aim  to  secure  the  general
education of their children;  especially such laws  and
regulations having this object in view  as are compulsory
upon  the natural and legal guardians of the children,
and what amendments or additions, if any, may be made
to  our present school laws that will more effectually
secure the education of every child in our State; and
report the same to the Legislature," Mr. RICE, on the
15th  of February, 1867, transmitted  to  that  body  a
voluminous and very able  report, prepared  under his
direction by A. G. JOHNSON, Esq., former Deputy  Superintendent, comprising a full abstract of the laws of
the  several States  relating  to  Common  Schools, and
the condition of educational matters in every country
of the world where  provision  of any kind  had  been
made by public authority.
In reference to  the  expediency of compulso'ry laws
and regulations for enforcing the attendance of children
upon public or private schools, the Superintendent, after
premising  that this  species of legislation  had  never
been  adopted  in the United  States, beyond  provision
in Massachusetts and some of the larger cities in other
States  for the  prevention  of  truancy, submitted  the
following remarks:
"The adversaries of compulsory attendance represent it as an arbitrary
interference with parental authority. In well-organized society, the parental




SIXTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL TRIUMPH.                     37
and filial relations are defined and regulated by law. The parent is clothed
xwith certain powers, and charged with certain duties.
" The right of the parent to the guardianship of his children is founded
on his desire and ability, natural or acquired, to supply their physical and
mental wants.  Society measures the solicitude and ability, on which the
right of guardianship rests, by the extent of the parent's contributions to the
healthful physical and mental development of his children. If they are insignificant-if natural affection and pecuniary ability, both or either, are
wanting —then the right of guardianship fails likewise, and society properly
takes the place of the parent, and itself assumes the control of them. Society provides for the orphan and destitute, and for those who are deserted
or cruelly abused by unnatural parents. From the habitual drunkard and
the insane it takes away both property and children.
" On what principle are such public laws founded? Because it is written,'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself;' and again,' As ye would that
others should do unto you, do ye even so to them;' and the controlling
moral sense of society, educated and exalted by conforming to these injunctions of a Supreme Intelligence, accepts them  as beneficent rules of action,
and requires obedience to them as a public duty. Hence the annual appropriation to provide for the idiotic, the blind, the insane, the deaf and dumb,
the orphan asylums, the Children's Aid Society, the dispensaries, and other
public charities.
"In ancient Greece and Rome, the laws gave almost unlimited authority
to the father over his children. He could destroy their lives in childhood,
kill them at any age, and sell them into slavery. This absolute power was
modified and softened by the family affections and by the manners and customs that among every people grow into a common law. In China, the
father has the same power of life and death, and the national religion seems
to be an exaggerated obedience to the command,'Honor thy father and
mother, that thy days may be long in the land.' In all Christian nations,
however, at the present day, the laws have modified parental authority, and,
among other things, prescribed that at a certain age-not the same everywhere —-it shall be terminated.
" It is as completely within the scope of legislation to require a parent to
educate his children as to clothe and feed them.  Compulsory laws have not,
in any country, assumed to do more. School teachers and school officers
report absentees and truants. If the absentees are in private schools, or are
receiving at home the same instruction that would be given in the public
schools, the law is satisfied. Society, whether republican or monarchial, is
but an extension of the family, and the family is no more the normal relation and condition of man than society or the aggregation of families. It
has the right to enact laws for its regulation, and as it advances from the
patriarchal state toward the highest degree of Christian civilization, its laws
must be modified and adapted to its improved condition.
"To the inquiry why the monarchial governments of Europe, have taken
public education in charge, and why they insist upon making it general, the




378                  COMMION  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
answer is, that they have had the sagacity to perceive that the new civilization,
which an overruling Providence has decreed for mankind, is distinguished
by the power and diffusion of knowledge, and they aim to shape and direct
it to their own safety. If universal education is the means for an absolute
monarchy to confirm its power, is it not still more necessary for a republic?
" But it is believed that in this country education can be universal without
being compulsory. In Holland, every adult citizen can read and write. Attendance at school has never been enjoined by law, but supervision has been
carried to an extent which would hardly be deemed legitimate in the State
of New York. The same thing is true in the canton of Geneva, in Switzerland. In Iceland, where there is but one school, and no public primary
school at all, every body can read and write, instruction being given by parents to their children at home in the long winter evenings. This has been
the custom for a thousand years. In Norway, a cold and rugged country,
with a sparse population, and where the schools are kept open in many
parishes only one or two days in a week, and even sometimes only half a day,
the teacher traveling from one school to another, it is still rare to meet with
an adult who cannot read and write. In China, where there are no public
primary schools, and where the only governmental incentive to study is the
certainty of obtaining office as the reward of success at the competitive
examinations, all the male population can read and write. In New England,
where there have never been compulsory laws, except in Massachusetts, it is
seldom that a native-born citizen is ignorant of the arts of reading, writing,
and ciphering. Popular opinion is a law on this subject. It is a disgrace to
be ignorant. The schools are open and free to all, and the child of the poorest parent has the same pains taken with his early instruction as the child of
the richest citizen. They often read and study in the same books, and always sit on the same benches, and recite in the same classes. In our own
State, those who cannot read, write, and cipher are comparatively few, and
of these a very small proportion are native citizens. The children of the
illiterate aliens very generally attend the public or church schools.
"I doubt the expediency of laws compelling parents and guardians to send
their children and wards of a proper school age to the public schools, or to provide education for them  at home or at private schools, until the persuasive
power of good teachers, commodious and comfortable school-houses, and
free schools shall have been tried, and tried in vain. In despotic and monarchial countries, the rulers say to the people,' Go,' and fear or physical force
compels obedience, but under a government established by the people, it is
deemed wise to use the word of invitation,' Come! "'
From   the  annual report  of  the  Superintendent,  on
the  1st  February,  1867, it  appeared,  from   a  careful
and  thorough  investigation  made  by  the  Deputy   Superintendent,  Mr.  BARR,  that  the  actual  number  of
school districts in the State, exclusive of those within




SIXTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL TRIUMPH.                    379
the cities, was only 11,387, instead of 11,738 as reported
-the error having  arisen  from  reporting joint districts
composed of adjoining  territory  in  two, three  or more
separate towns in each  of the  towns  from  which  they
were  composed.  The  sum   expended  during  the  year
reported  for the purchase of sites, building, repairing,
and   furnishing   school-houses,  &c.,  was   $970,224.59,
about equally distributed in the city and rural districts,
and valued at $6,720,535 in the former, and $5,534,422
in the latter, averaging $22,346.47 each in the cities and
about $500 in the country.  The provision of law  authorizing  the  school Commissioner and  Supervisor to  condemn dilapidated  school-houses, and declare them  unfit
for use, had  been executed  by  those  officers with  discretion, resulting not only in the replacement of these
buildings by new  and comfortable houses, but in  keeping others in  repair.
"The school-house," observes the Superintendent, " should be the handsomest and most pleasantly situated building in the district. It should be
conveniently arranged and comfortably seated, ample in size, well ventilated and warmed. It should have, where possible, a good yard and play
ground, not less than half an acre in extent, planted with shade trees, and
surrounded with a substantial fence.' The little commune of Winterthur, in the Swiss canton of Zurich, with
only 5,000 inhabitants, has within the past three years built three schoolhouses, situated in the midst of gardens, and at a cost of $100,000. Such
taste in the selection of sites and erection of buildings shows a just appreciation of the value of schools and knowledge. It would be a high privilege
to be a citizen of Winterthur; we may be sure that a traveler visiting Winterthur would have nothing to say of beggars, paupers, and criminals. It is
the abode of industry, plenty and intelligence.
" The contrast of what is, with what ought to be, in thousands of cases,
is discreditable to the State. Our citizens should be awakened to their duty
in this respect. If a regard for the comfort and health of the children is
not motive sufficient to rouse them, there are economic considerations which
ought to prevail. No really good teacher will engage   to teach in a district
with a wretched, uncomfortable shell of a house, and the employment of an
incompetent teacher is a waste of the money of the State and of the parents,
and of the precious time of the children. The cost of warming and repairing such a house is greater. An unsightly structure, unpainted, without




380                   COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
blinds, with loose clapboards and doors without hinges, standing unfenced
by the highway, is a fair mark for snow balls and stones from every idle and
mischievous boy. Nobody cares enough about it to guard it from injury and
demolition.  A really beautiful house would be an object of interest and
pride, would be attractive to teachers and pupils, and would enlist the care
and protection of trustees and inhabitants."
The act  of  1866,  authorizing   the  appraisal of  and
acquisition   of  titles   to   sites,   was   found   generally
acceptable  and  useful  in   accelerating  the  erection   of
new   and  tasteful school edifices upon  commodious and
well chosen sites.
The number of volumes in  the several district libraries  was  1,181,811, and  their  estimated  value  $652,156.
The sum  of $27,500 had been expended in the purchase of
suitable books during the year, and $186,693 for school
apparatus, $173,870.48  of  which  had  been  expended  in
the  city, and  $8,617.89  only  in  the  rural districts.
"It is believed," says the Superintendent, " that the district libraries in
the rural districts have lived beyond the day of their highest usefulness. The
history which the American people have been writing for themselves during
the last six years, has almost entirely absorbed the public mind, and drawn
the eyes of the young and the old to the daily and weekly newspaper, and
other periodical literature of the day, so that the district libraries fail to receive
their just share of attention.  As an evidence of this it may be stated that
about one-half of the sum annually apportioned to the rural districts for this
purpose, is applied to the payment of teachers' wages.
" The amount expended for teachers' wages was:
Years.                        Cities.       Rural Districts.      Total.
In 1866................  $2,093,042 90    $2,465,847 76    $4,558,890 66
In 1865...............  1,932,438 26         2,043,655 17       3.976,093 43
L' From  this exhibit it appears that there has been an advance in the
wages paid to teachers during the year, amounting in the aggregate to
$582,797.23, being in the cities $160,604.64, and in the rural districts
$422,192.59. The average, for the annual salaries of teachers, as shown by
he above figures, is:
In    the   cities..................................................   $586   94
In  the  rural  districts...........................................  203   76
" This gives for the average weekly wages of teachers:
In  the  cities......................................   $13   64
In the rural districts......................................  6 70
" The amount raised for school purposes by local taxation during the year
was:




SIXTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL TRIUMPH.                381
Years.                  Cities.     Rural Districts.   Total.
In 1866...........    $2,945,166 38   $1,131,559 14   $4,076,725 52
In  1865.................   2,655,544  45  845,525  75  3,501,070  20
" The sum raised by rate-bill in the rural districts-$709,025.36-and
also the estimated value of the board of teachers who' boarded around'$478,287.91-should be added to the amount raised by tax, to show the
actual sum raised by local taxation and legal contribution, making
$2,318,872.41."
The aggregate amount of public money apportioned
during the year was $1,468,422.22, of which $1,148,422.22
was derived from the avails of the State tax, and the
remaining  $320,000  from  the  income  of the  Common
School and  U. S. Deposit Funds.   Of  this  amount
$1,406,336.22 were  distributed  among  the several districts —about  four  millions  of dollars  raised  by  tax,
$709,025 by rate bill, and the remaining sum  necessary
for the  support of schools obtained from  local funds.
There were expended during the year, for the maintenance  of the  schools  in  the  cities, $3,330,886.39, and
in  the  rural  districts   $3,302,049.55 —making   in  all
$6,632,935.94: showing an increase of $897,475.70 over
the expenditure of the preceding year.  The number of
children  attending  the  schools  during  the year was
919,309, of which 326,798 were in the cities and 592,511
in the rural districts.
The number of districts  in which indigent persons
were  exempted  from  the  payment of rate  bills  was
2,327; the number in which no such exemptions were
made, 7,764.  "Thus," pertinently and forcibly observes
the  Superintendent,  "it appears  that in  over eighty
districts in  every hundred, upon the  confession  of the
trustees  themselves,  the  law   authorizing  these  officers to exempt the poor from  this burden has proved
of no  effect.  Section 39 of Title VII of the General
School Law  commences thus: "The Common  Schools
in the several school districts of this State  SHALL BE




3S2                COMION  SCHOOL SYSTE3M.
FREE  to  all persons  over five  and  under  twenty-one
years of age, residing in the district." But, in fact,
they  are  free  only  in  the  same  sense  that good  dinners at our best hotels are free dinners.  They are free
to all those who will pay a good price for them."  In the
2,327  districts  where,  alone, exemptions  were  made,
they  were found  to amount to  $47,873.56, or an  average of about $2,057.00 in each.
The number of districts in  which the library money
was  used   for  the  payment  of teachers' wages  was
7,940; and  the money so used  amounted to  $16,443,75,
or nearly  one-half the entire  sum   apportioned  to  the
rural districts for that purpose.
In  reference  to Normal Schools, the  Superintendent
observes:' The law of 1866 creating a Board of Commissioners to receive and act
upon proposals for the establishment of four additional Normal Schools was
progress in the right direction. The public spirit and liberality displayed in
various parts of the State manifesting an interest in the education of teachers, so impressed the commissioners that they recommended by a unanimous
vote, the establishment of six more such institutions.' So far, it must be acknowledged that the State of New York, considering its population and material wealth, has done comparatively little for
normal instruction. It has in operation at this time only two Normal and
Training Schools. The aggregate value of the property offered by different
localities for the location of the four Normal Schools authorized by the law
of 1866, was $900,000, showing conclusively the general appreciation of the
importance of these institutions. There is, indeed, a readiness on the part of
the people in many of the villages and counties to unite with the State in
the establishment and maintenance of as many of them as are wanted. We
shall soon have six Normal Schools in operation. The number of pupils in
each at one time will hardly exceed 250; of whom not more than one hundred can be expected to graduate. The average number of graduates may,
therefore, be set down at 600 annually. The number of teachers required in
the State is about 16,000. It would, therefore, take a period of twenty-six
years for these schools to graduate so many. This statement would be discouraging, but for the fact that each thoroughly qualified teacher imparts
his skill to many of his pupils, who themselves become teachers.
" But we cannot afford to wait during the school period of three generations. Our schools cannot be innocently neglected so long. Twenty Normal




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SIXTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL TRIUMPH.                   383
Schools, with the aid of academies and Teachers' Institutes, might be adequate. I therefore respectfully recommend the passage of an act continuing
in existence the commission created by chapter 466 of the laws of 1866, with
power to establish, pursuant to the terms and conditions therein prescribed,
at least ten more Normal Schools. I am convinced of the vital importance of
such action. If the Legislature in 1815, or even thirty years ago, had
adopted this policy, it would have been an actual saving of money. The
evidence of it would have been seen on every hand. We should have had a
greater supply of trained teachers, devoted to their calling and successful; a
higher grade of Common Schools, and a larger average attendance. The
consequences of our past errors are now plainly seen. But our regret is lessened by the hope that wiser counsels are about to prevail, and that this
glaring omission of our school system will be supplied."
In 86 academies of the State, 363 male and 1,122 female pupils had been instructed during the preceding year
for a period of four months in the science  of Common
School teaching; and in fifty-two counties, 62 Teachers'
Institutes, numbering  8,543  teachers, had  been  held.
In conclusion, the Superintendent observes:
" Though not yet perfect, the school system of this State is a most excellent one-simple, yet comprehensive; democratic in character, yet strong and
efficient. All school officers, from the trustees of school districts up, are
elected by, and are directly responsible to, the people for the manner in which
the duties of their respective offices are performed, and, in addition to this
responsibility, the law has provided appropriate penalties for neglect of
duty, or malfeasance in office.
" The greatest defect in our school system is, as I have urged in previous
reports, the continuance of the rate-bill system. Our Common Schools can
never reach their highest degree of usefulness until they shall have been
made entirely free. Although our Common Schools have made rapid progress
in efficiency and usefulness during the past decade, I venture to prophesy
that if the Legislature shall comply with the public demand, and throw open
the doors of the Public School-houses, so that all the children of the State
may receive the benefits of education'without money and without price,'
their progress in the coming decade will be even greater than it has been in
the past.
"To meet this public demand, to confer upon the children of the State
the blessings of free education, a bill has already been introduced into your
honorable body entitled'An act to amend an act, entitled an act to revise
and consdlidate the acts relating to public instruction,' which meets with my
fullest approbation. Every amendment to the school law, proposed by that
bill, ought, in my judgment, to become a part of the law. The main features




3S4                   COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
of the bill are the provisions to raise, by State tax, a sum about equal to that
raised in the districts by rate-bills, and to abolish the rate-bill system; to
facilitate the erection and repair of school-houses, whose character I have
hereinbefore reported, by giving to the School Commissioners and Supervisors
additional discretionary power in regard to them.
" Some special act is needed by which idle, poor, and truant children in
the cities may be provided for, not in jails or police stations, but at Reform
Schools specially adapted to their condition and improvement.
" After having fully considered the duty of the State, the just claims of
her children, the public sentiment and ability, I am, in conclusion, prepared
to make the following specific recommendations, and to commend them hopefully to your consideration:
" 1. That the general State tax for the support of schools be increased by
the addition of one-half of a mill on every dollar of valuation, for the purpose
of diminishing local or school district taxation.
" 2. That the general laws be so amended that the odious rate-bill shall no
longer prevent children from going to school; that the schools shall be as
free to all of proper age and condition as the air and the sunlight.
" 3. That the Commission created by the Act of 1866 be continued and authorized in their discretion to locate six additional Normal Schools, upon the
terms and conditions prescribed in that act.
"4. That aid be rendered to the Children's Aid Society in the City of
New York, and other societies doing the same beneficent and humane work
in a prudent and economical manner.
" 5. That an act be passed providing a mode of taking lands for or in addition to sites for public school-houses in the cities and villages of the State,
and of acquiring title thereto, and determining the compensation to be paid
therefor.
" 6. That the General School law shall be so amended that School Commissioners shall have power to cause alterations and repairs to be made on
district school-houses, at an expense not exceeding $200 in any one case; and
that increased power be given to the School Commissioners and Supervisors,
in the matter of condemning school-houses unfit for use, so that districts
owning such condemned school-houses may be compelled to expend a moderate
sum in building new ones.
7. That instead of the Act of 1853, in relation to idle and truant children, an act be passed requiring cities to provide that suitable tenements be
erected or leased for the education of small children, and that a distinction
shall be made between the idle and truant who are usually running in the
streets and alleys without employment, and the vagrant and vicious who are
arrested for criminal offences; that those whose only fault is idleness and
truancy, for want of parental care and watchfulness, may be gathered into
city schools specially provided for them, and that those who are arrested and
convicted of crimes, shall be committed, not to jails and penitentiaries, like
common thieves, but sent to Reforme Schools, and be taught some useful trade.
This recommendation is made in the confident belief that it is not for the




SIXTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL TRIUMPH.              3S5
good of society that even the most degraded of such children be confined in
prisons with hardened criminals, or that their services be sold to contractors,
either for profit or emolument, or to make a house of refuge a self-sustaining
institution; that, on the contrary, the real welfare of society demands their
moral reformation by kindly treatment and culture, and their instruction in
some gainful industry, so that when discharged, they may be both willing
and able to earn an honest living."
During the session  of  the Legislature  of 1867, in
accordance  with  this  recommendation,  an  act  was
passed  abolishing   the  obnoxious  rate-bill  systemdeclaring  the  Common  Schools  of  the   State  absolutely free to all children of the requisite school ageincreasing the State tax, for their support, to one and
one-quarter mill on each dollar of the assessed valuation
of property, directing  and  defining the  mode  of its
distribution, and  making  sundry other subordinate alterations and modifications in the existing law.
From  the  annual report of the Superintendent, on
the 9th of March, 1868, it appeared that the amount
expended during the preceding year for the  purchase
of sites, and the building, purchasing, hiring, repairing,
and insuring school-houses, fences, and out-buildings, was
$1,713,107, of which  $1,012,483 were  expended  in  the
cities, and $700,624 in the rural districts, being an increase  of $742,882, or upward  of  76 per cent., over
that of any preceding  year, and  more  than  100 per
cent. over the average annual expenditure for the same
purpose during the past ten years.  There  still, however, remained upward of 1,000 districts without schoolhouse  sites, 9,592  whose  sites  were  uninclosed, and
2,278  without  privies.   "That  old  and  dilapidated
school-houses," observes the Superintendent, "destitute
of provision for the light, heat, and ventilation essential to the health and comfort of their occupants, and
without the out-buildings demanded by a proper regard
25




386                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
for  modesty  and  decency, ought  not  to  be  tolerated
by a Christian people, is a proposition that needs only
to  be  stated  to  produce  conviction.   This  class  of
school-houses  is  generally  found  in  the less  populous
and  poorer districts; and  the question  suggests itself,
how  can the disgrace of their existence  in  any part of
the  State  be  removed?   The  answer  is, by  the  proceeds  of  a  general  State  tax  to  encourage  and  aid
these  districts in  replacing  them   by  new  and  convenient buildings.   To  the  equity  and  propriety  of  such
a  tax for this purpose your attention  is invited."   He
recommends  the  imposition  of  an  eighth  of  one mill
on the dollar, in addition to the present State tax, for
the term  of five years, for this specific purpose.
The number of volumes in the district libraries was
1,112,011, being a decrease of nearly 70,000 from that
of  the preceding  year.   In  reference  to  this  fact, the
Superintendent says:
"There can, I think, be no question that the greater part of the district
libraries have, as circulating mediums of instruction, passed the meridian of
their usefulness. Thirty years have wrought a great change in this respect.
Books, magazines, and newspapers now find their way to nearly every household in the land, and have almost superseded the use of the circulating
library. But the necessity for the continuance of the district library, as a
means of reference for the studious of both sexes, will always remain. This
view of the subject calls for increased exertions in this department.
" The fact that more than half of the library money apportioned is expended for the payment of teachers' wages is evidence, if there were no other,
that the libraries are no longer generally held in high estimation by the
people. But there is other evidence. The law provides that'the taxable
inhabitants of each school district in the State shall have power, when lawfully assembled in any district meeting, to lay a tax on the district, not exceeding ten dollars in any one year, for the purchase of such books as they
shall direct for the district library, and such further sum as they may deem
necessary for the purchase of a book-case.' Yet the instances in which this
tax is levied are rare. In the 12,000 school districts in the State, including
those in cities, there are only 8,690 book-cases.' It is notorious that in a very large number of districts the preservation
of the books is not a matter of solicitude on the part of school-district officers.
It has already been stated that the number of books reported in the libraries is




SIXTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL TRIUMPH.                   387
69,800 less than was reported for the previous year. This large discrepancy
is attributable to the fact that some of the trustees report regularly by guess,
without attempting to count the books, while others report in a similar manner, after vainly endeavoring to find volumes that are scattered among the
inhabitants, and have grown old, dusty, and worm-eaten since they were laid
by in garrets and dark corners. Nothing is expended for the care of the
libraries, and the money appropriated for their support is not half enough to
keep them in repair. The selection and purchase of books is left to the
trustees, who have not the opportunity to make choice selections, but are
compelled to make their purchases of retail dealers, at retail prices.
" These facts are adverse to any hope that the libraries, as at present managed, will grow in usefulness, and increase in favor with the people. A radical change is needed. Provision should be made for a much larger annual
appropriation, for the selection of books upon a wiser and more economical
plan, and for their better preservation. This appropriation ought to amount
to at least ten dollars for each library. The books should be selected and
purchased by a commission composed of gentlemen of unquestioned integrity
and ability. Their distribution might be based upon the population of the
districts, or the number of children of school age.
"It is confidently believed that if intelligent women were elected to the
office of school district librarian, the books now missing would, within a
single year, be collected from their hiding places. In the rural districts, the
libraries are generally deposited in dwelling-houses, where woman presides,
and their care would be in the line of her duties. Women are now the successful teachers of nearly all of the district schools, and no reason is apparent
why they may not share those district offices for which, by nature and education, they are as admirably adapted as for the instruction of children."
The  number  of  children  in  attendance  upon  the
several schools during the year 1867 was 949,203, being
an  increase  of  upward  of  30,000  over the  preceding
year.   The amount  expended  for  teachers' wages was
$4,826,471.64, of which $2,217,028.94 were expended in
the cities, and $2,609,442.70 in  the  rural districts, being
an increase of $267,580 over the aggregate expenditure
for this purpose of the preceding  year.
The  public  money  applicable  to   school  purposes
for  the  year   reported   was  $2,400,134.65,  of   which
$2,080,134.65 was derived from  the State school tax, and
the  remainder  from   the  Common  School  and  deposit
fund.   Of this amount, $2,232,083.65 were  apportioned
among  the  several districts for the year 1868.




388                  COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
The  total expenditures  of  the  several districts  for
the year 1867 were as follows:
For teacher's wages........................ 4,826,471 64
For  libraries..................................   24,439   25
For apparatus.................................    211,665  47
For colored schools...........................   56,413 23
For school-houses, sites, &c..................... 1,713,107 01
For incidental expenses........................  850,766 82
For fixtures....................          337 80
$7,683,201 22
Leaving a balance on hand, October 1, of $1,065,125,48.
Of  the  amounts  thus  expended,  $3,992,893.20  were
expended  in  the  cities, and  $3,690,308.02  in  the  rural
districts, showing an increase of upward of $1,000,000
over the preceding year.
In 8,400 districts, the library money, to the amount
of $17,587.47, was appropriated to  the payment of teachers' wages.
The   State   Normal   Schools   at  Albany,  Oswego,
Brockport, and  Fredonia  were  in  successful operation.
Similar institutions  were  in  progress, under  authority
of  law,  in   Potsdam,  St.  Lawrence   county,  Cortland,
Geneseo, and Buffalo.
"It is assumed," observes the Superintendent, " that the State has the
ability to establish and maintain as many of these schools as are needed; and
we have only to inquire,'How many are necessary?' To this inquiry your
attention is invited. There are in this State over 11,700 school districts.
While the schools are in session, they employ constantly about 16,000 teachers; but the whole number annually employed, at different times, is over
twenty-six thousand. This proves conclusively, that a large proportion of
those who offer themselves as instructors make school teaching only a temporary business. Those who are most thoroughly qualified for the position,
and who devote their whole time to it, are found, as a general rule, in
the service of the cities and more populous villages, to which they are
attracted by larger salaries. It is notorious that a large proportion of the
rural districts are obliged to accept the services of persons who have had
comparatively little special preparation for their work; and it is equally
certain that this condition of things must continue so long as the State shall




-        ----  _-7~I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~:-: _- - = ==-    -I
_ =~; i- =-:!
BROCKPORT NORMAL SCHOOL.








SIXTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL TRIUMPH.                    389
be satisfied with the limited provision made for the special education of
teachers.
" When the eight Normal Schools, for which provision has been made,
shall have been in operation for several years, they will not maintain a constant supply of more than four thousand teachers, including both graduates
and undergraduates. From the teachers' classes in the academies we may
expect a thousand more; but these will be quite young persons-boys and
girls, who will have spent but four months in special preparation. This is a
short time, indeed, in which to compass the human understanding, and gain
a clear conception of the laws of its healthful and vigorouS, growth. It can
only be said, in favor of these classes, that they furnish teachers who are more
useful than those of the same natural ability who have not received any
special training.
" Teachers' Institutes are attended by all classes of teachers. It will have
been observed that, during the past year, over nine thousand were thus
assembled for a mutual interchange of views and experience. Thus the
Institutes become the annual reviews of the State's armies of educators,
which serve to remind them that by self-improvement they must keep step
with the march of their profession, and that promotion awaits those only
who press to the front. The Institutes will always be needed, no matter how
many Normal Schools may be supported; but we cannot look to them  for
the thorough culture and discipline of mind acquired at these schools.
" When all the Normal Schools, now provided for, shall be in successful
operation, they cannot, even with the aid of teachers' classes in the academies, and Teachers' Institutes, supply one-half of the Common Schools with
qualified teachers. We need, certainly, as many more of those schools. The
people have expressed a hearty willingness to aid the State in this matter.
Already, in many eligible localities, they have offered to the State, as a gift,
suitable, commodious, and well-furnished buildings.'As is the teacher, so
is the school,' is a precept that is rapidly gaining significance in the public
mind. It must assume still greater importance, as a knowledge of the
proper mode of conducting schools shall become more general and discriminating. In evidence of this fact, it may be stated that, during the past
year, more applications were made to the Department for' teachers of high
character and qualifications' than for several preceding years. They were
accompanied, for the most part, by the offer of liberal salaries; but no considerable number of such teachers could be found, who were unemployed;
and, in too many instances, the applicants were obliged to accept of inferior
services. At the best, the majority of the schools must meet with long and
impatient delays in securing such teachers. It is to avoid these delays, and
to secure the necessary and steady supply of competent instructors, that I
recommend the passage of an act, which shall continue in existence the commission created by chapter 466 of the Laws of 1866, with power to locate, at
any time within two years, at least four additional Normal and Training
Schools upon the terms and conditions prescribed by that act."




390                 COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
In  the  teachers'  classes  in  the  several academies
1,400  pupils were  instructed  during the  year, of whom
1,000 were females; and in the 66 Teachers' Institutes
9,676  teachers were  in  attendance, 7,000 of whom  were
females.  The  Superintendent  says:
"Since 1854, these temporary Normal Schools have been growing in usefulness and in public favor, until they are justly regarded as an essential
agency in the preparation of teachers.
" It is not claimed that these Institutes make superior scholars, but it is
the unqualified testimony of those most competent to judge correctly that
they impart more information in regard to the proper organization, government and instruction of schools than can be gained elsewhere in the same
time, and at so little expense.
" It is a well-known fact, which may be stated without detracting from
the merits of any one, that those who follow teaching for any considerable
time are liable to become'stereotyped and opinionated.' They are in daily
contact with those who, by position, age, and acquirements, are their inferiors,
and therefore do not presume to scrutinize or question how they teach or
what they teach. No urgent necessity compels them to self-examination; to
review the opinions and practices to which they have become accustomed
and attached; hence they do not seek and examine for new sources of
knowledge. They deem themselves equal to a task which does not enforce
its demand for frequently renewed and varied effort. They are wedded to
their theories and modes of instruction, and will so remain unless their errors
are revealed to them by the light of discussion with their equals or superiors.
These tendencies are counteracted at the Institutes. The more mature in
years and experience are led, by a mutual interchange of opinions and sentiments, to abandon many false theories and practices, and to adopt others
whose proper application in their schools awakens their ingenuity and enforces thought and research to which they have not before been accustomed;
while the younger class of teachers acquire a certain amount of knowledge
of their practical duties which they have no other opportunity to learn, and
are also matured in their purpose to devote themselves zealously and cheerfully to their new vocation."
Respecting Teachers' Associations, he observes:
"Somewhat akin to the Institutes are the Teachers' Associations, which
in some instances embrace the teachers of a town; in others the teachers of
a Commissioner's district; and in others still the teachers of a county.
" They are in session one or two days, and are devoted chiefly to the
interchange of friendly greetings, and to the illustration of methods in the
practice of teaching. School officers and other citizens share with the teachers in the exercises. Their beneficient influence is not questioned, and




SIXTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL TRIUMPH.                    391
their formation is encouraged by the School Commissioners and approved
by this Department.
" The last session of the New York State Teachers' Association, held at
Auburn, in the month of August last, was largely attended by the energetic,
enthusiastic, and influential teachers from all parts of the State. Those who
do most crowd the advance in the march of improvement were there; and it
is encouraging that so respectable and influential a body of persons unanimously and heartily adopted resolutions approving of the establishment of
more Normal Schools, and of making all the public schools free."
Of  Union  Free  School Districts,  he says:
"The Union Free School Act, which was passed in 1853 and amended in
1864, has contributed materially to the establishment and maintenance of a
superior class of graded schools, and has diminished the number of applications for special laws to meet the increasing demand for such schools in
districts thickly populated. In many cases there was a consolidation of two
or more school districts for the purpose. Under the operation of this law
enlarged powers are exercised, and sufficient property is associated to permit the incurring of heavier expenditure for school-houses and the employment of a proper number of competent teachers. Owing to the fact that in
such districts the schools were free, the aggregate and regular attendance of
pupils was largely increased. There being in many of them a gradation of
departments from primary to academical, the labor of teachers was more effectively divided. It may be said in reference to their higher departments
that in range and quality of instruction they have compared favorably with
the best academies. They are generally provided with all necessary scientific apparatus, and are all under the immediate charge and supervision of
boards of education, to whose zeal, fidelity, and intelligence as school officers,
I have the utmost pleasure in bearing testimony,"
In   conclusion, the   Superintendent  thus  alludes  to
the  new  Free  School Act of 1867:
"The law passed at the last session of the Legislature, commonly known
as the'Free School Act,' is meeting the most sanguine hopes of its advocates. It took effect on the 1st day of October, 1867; and already the local
school officers report an average daily attendance of pupils at the schools,
twenty to thirty per cent. greater than it was during the same period of the
year previous. In many districts, and particularly where there is a large
proportion of foreign-born population, it has been found necessary to increase
the accommodations, from this cause. They also report that the provisions
of the act by which a general State tax is substituted for'the odious ratebill' is almost unanimously approved.
"The entire support of the schools by State taxation is not advocated.
On the contrary, it is believed that any plan devised to make the burden
of their support more nearly equal, should include district taxation to an




392                  COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
amount sufficient to make the care of the school property, and economy of expenditure, matters of local interest. In my judgment, also, competition for the
best school-houses, best teachers, and the best schools ought to be encouraged;
and the expense of superior privileges thus gained ought to be paid by those
who incur it and enjoy its immediate benefits. But the fact recurs that there
is no just proportion between the State and local taxation; that the latter is
now more than four times as great as the former. In evidence of this, let the
fact be repeated that for the support of schools during the past school year,
there was raised:
By  local taxation.............................  $5,101,754  52
By  State tax.................................  1,148,422  22
"This tax was increased one-half of a mill on each dollar of valuation, by
chapter 406 of the laws of 1867, and the proceeds for the present and succeeding years will be about two millions of dollars. If you shall not deem
it wise to increase this tax, the hope is cherished that you will have no occasion to diminish it.'After having fully considered the duty of the State, the just claims of
her children, the public interest i our schools, and the ability of the people
to advance their welfare, I am prepared to make the following specific recommendation:
" The levying of a tax for five successive years of one eighth of a mill upon
each dollar of taxable property in the State, for the purpose of aiding in the
erection and improvement of school-houses and their appurtenances. The
proceeds of this tax shall be apportioned among the cities and rural districts
upon the same bases, except the basis of attendance, that the school moneys
are now apportioned. The amount thus assigned to the several cities may
be appropriated immediately, as their respective boards of education or other
authorities shall determine, for the building or furnishing of school-houses,
or the compensation of teachers. But the county treasurers shall not pay to
any rural school district its share of such money, except upon a certificate
by the School Commissioner and Supervisor of the town in which the
district is situated, to the effect that their school-house is commodious, in
good condition, and provided with all necessary conveniences. In cases
where the money is withheld, it shall be retained by him, from year to year,
till such certificate shall be presented. No district thus failing, for one or
more years, to comply with this condition, shall forfeit the money withheld
from it, provided that the omission shall not extend beyond the sixth year.
At the end of this period, all such moneys remaining in the hands of any
county treasurer shall be finally re-apportioned, in the same manner as other
school moneys, to the several school districts in such county."
During   this  year  the   CORNELL   UNIVERSITY   was
opened  at Ithaca.  A  large number of  people were  in
attendance  during  the  inaugural ceremonies.  The  free
scholarships provided by law in each of the assembly
districts  of  the  State,  numbering  128, were  filled  by




SIXTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL TRIUMPH.          393
the proper appointments, and about 400 pupils admitted to the course of instruction. Of this institution
the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor and  Superintendent of Public Instruction, are ex-officio Trustees. Its
funds consist of the avails of the College Land Scrip
for 990,000 acres of public lands, donated as the share
of the State of New York, by the Government of the
United States, under the act of July 2, 1862, for the
establishment of colleges in the several States for the
benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts and military science; and appropriated by the State in  1865,
to the institution, of a munificent donation by EZRA
CORNELL, the  founder, of $500,000; together with  a
farm of two hundred acres, and a site for the University, valued at $500,000; and $10,000 for a cabinet of
the Paleontology of New York. The selection of one
pupil from each of the assembly districts of the State,
for  gratuitous  instruction, is required  to be made
from  those possessing the highest scholarship  in the
public schools and academies of the State, giving preference to the sons of those  who  have died  in  the
military or naval service of the United  States.  "If
this design," says Superintendent RICE, in his annual
report for 1868, "be fully  carried  out, the Cornell
University, becomes the very cream  of our Public School
System. Its students being selected because of superior
mental and physical capacity, should be superior to
those  of any other University in the world. A  wise
provision  at the  outset forestalls  all  sectarian  or
religious preferences, as well as distinctions of rank
or previous occupation, respecting  eligibility  to  appointments or offices."  The Hon. ANDREW  D. WHITE,
of Ithaca, is President of the institution, and GOLDWIN
SMITH, of Oxford  University, England, fills the chair
of Political Economy.




SECTION II.-ADMINISTRATION OF SUPERINTENDENT ABRAM B.
WEAVER —I868 TO I87I.
Annual Reports.-Condition of the Common Schools.-Prosperous Workings of the System.-District Libraries.-Perversion of the Fund
for their Support.-Normal Schools.-Teachers' Departments in
Academies.  Teachers' Institutes.- Union Free Schools.-Indian
Schools.-Proposed Creation of a State Board of Education.-Condition of the Several City Public Schools.-General Statistical Summary.
ON  the second  Tuesday in  February, 1868, ABRAM
B. WEAVER  of Oneida  was appointed, on  joint
ballot  of  the  Legislature,  Superintendent  of Public
Instruction.  Mr. WEAVER was a young man  of promising  abilities, great vigor of character, and  considerable experience as a school officer.  On entering upon
the  discharge of his new  duties, he appears  to  have
fully appreciated  and adopted  the advanced views and
principles which had been incorporated into the system
of Public  Instruction  by his predecessors, and  immediately  to  have  addressed  himself to  the  reformation
of  all its  faults  and  excrescences.   EDWARD  DANFORTH, Esq., for many years the able and efficient City
Superintendent of Troy, was  appointed Deputy  State
Superintendent.
The  Superintendent, in  his annual report of 1869,
observes:
"The work of public instruction for the year ending Sept. 30, 1868, was
prosecuted under new auspices. While the general structure of the school
law was not disturbed, a material modification was made by the act of 1867,
which took effect on the first day of October thereafter, and which, among




SIXTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL -TRIUMPH.                    395
other things, provided for the abolishment of rate-bills, and for increased
local and State taxation for school purposes. This was, primarily, a change
in the manner of raising the requisite funds; not an absolute increase of the
aggregate amount to be raised. It involved and encouraged such increase,
so far as the inhabitants in the several school districts should authorize it by
substituting taxation exclusively on property, for a mixed assessment which,
in part, was a tax on attendance.
" Thus relieved of an old impediment, and supplied with additional power and larger resources, the cause of public instruction, during the last fiscal
year, has wrought results unequaled in all the past, and which, if they correctly denote a corresponding growth in the popular estimate of the value
and advantages of our public schools, mark the beginning of a new and more
auspicious era in the development of the educational system of the State.
The effect of this amendment has not been confined to the financial policy
thereby inaugurated. It is distinctly traceable in lengthened terms of school,
in a larger and more uniform attendance, and in more liberal expenditures
for school buildings and appliances. We are now enabled to study the influence of this measure for the first year of its operation, and to judge of its
merits in the light of a limited experience. The liberal and progressive
spirit that authorized it, will not fail to watch its workings with unabated
interest.
"The State is fully committed to the policy of providing for all the
children within its limits the opportunity to acquire at least a sound elementary education, sufficient for the duties of good citizenship and for personal usefulness  This comprehensive plan is not entirely new. It is the
natural outgrowth and development of the original enterprise initiated by
establishing Common Schools in 1812. With the exception of a brief period
under the operation of the Free School law of 1849, which was declared unconstitutional by the courts on account of its conditional enactment, the system, as organized and conducted prior to the late change, though as efficient as
could well be expected under conditions then existing, and entitled to lasting gratitude and respect for the good it has accomplished, never completely
compassed the principles upon which it rested.
" The public considerations that induce the State to engage in this work
distinctly recognize the proposition, that the education of all the children of
all classes and conditions in society is essential to the highest welfare of the
whole community, and that suitable provision for such education is a matter
of common concern. But, as a large part of the expense was dependent upon attendance, and as the penalty of that attendance was the imposition of a
rate-bill, it resulted that many children whose parents were unable or unwilling to incur that charge, and whose early associations were least calculated
to direct them into the paths of learning, were deterred from attending the
schools. This practice increased the expense for those who did attend, and
that again reduced the number, while the two causes co-operating occasioned
great waste of opportunity and effort, and speedily dispersed the schools after
the public moneys were consumed. That chronic defect has, in a measure,




396               COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
been remedied by the recent reform. The State, having by its legislation, by
its appropriations, by its supervision, by all its dealings with this question,
pronounced in favor of popular education, and having labored for years to
accomplish it, has at length adopted means more nearly commensurate with
the work in hand. Our schools, heretofore common in theory and name, are
now really so in practice; and since the first day of October, 1867, the inducement has been to enter them, and to enjoy unconditional advantages in
the nature of compensation for attendance, instead of staying away to avoid
contingent expenses."
The number of districts in the State now  amounted
to  11,736; and the number of children  under instruction to 970,842, being an increase  of upward of 21,000
over that of the preceding year.  The whole number of
children between the ages of five and twenty-one years,
residing in the State, was reported at 1,464,669, although
the accuracy of the enumeration was questioned by the
Superintendent.  The increased average attendance over
the  preceding  year in  the  rural districts was 24,657,
from  which the Superintendent observes: "the conclusion is direct and inevitable, that by the abolition of
the rate-bill the school-house doors have  been opened
to  many  against whom  they  were  heretofore  practically barred."  The  amount of public  money received
in the several districts  during the year reported  was
$10,511,677.60,  of which  $2,302,515.70  were  from  the
avails of the Common School and U. S. Deposit Funds
and the State 11 mill tax, and  $6,338,861.77 raised by
local tax; and there were  expended  $9,040,942.02  for
teachers' wages, libraries, school apparatus, sites, buildings, and other incidental expenses, being an INCREASE
OF $1,357,740.80 over the preceding year.  The sum  expended for teachers' wages alone was $5,597,506.94-an
increase  of upward  of $771,000!  The  total avails ot
the State tax were $2,207,611.42.  The number of volumnes in  the  several district libraries  had  diminished
from 1,604,210 in 1853 to 1,064,830, verifying the pre



SIXTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL TRIUMPH.          397
diction of Superintendent MORGAN in 1850, that if the
precedent of a diversion  of any  part of this fund
to any other purpose than  the purchase  of suitable
books, "were once established, under whatever limitations or restrictions, and however warranted by the
peculiar circumstances of particular cases, the inevitable result would be a more or less speedy absorption
of the entire fund, and a virtual extinction  of the
whole library system."   "The value of a good library," says Superintendent WEAVER, "as an instrumentality for disseminating useful knowledge, awakening a
love for science and literature, and promoting general
intelligence, when it is properly appreciated and used,
is well understood, and doubtless accounts for the constancy with which the State has adhered to the system, even in its waning condition.  It is equally clear
that the liberality that has expended nearly two millions of dollars to  convey  these advantages to  the
people, in a practical form, has not been reciprocated
by a judicious selection and proper care of the books.
The annual reports from  this department, since 1843,
have, almost without exception, complained of delinquencies in these respects.  Superintendent VAN DYCK,
in  his report for 1861, says, "Concurrent testimony
from  nearly every quarter of the State represents the
libraries in the rural districts as almost totally unused,
and rapidly deteriorating in value."  These accounts
are substantially  corroborated  in  several reports by
Superintendent RICE.  It is quite manifest that the
result to which  these  indications unmistakably  point
may be reached by a process more easy and economical than that now pursued.  If the system  is to be
revived  and preserved, it should receive prompt and
thorough action to rescue it from  utter failure."




398                COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
The  attendance  upon  the  several  Teachers' Institutes  throughout  the  State  was  larger than  ever before, amounting  to  10,377, more  than  82 per  cent. of
the  whole  number  of  teachers  employed  in  all the
district schools of the State.
In  addition  to  the  Normal  Schools  at Albany  and
Oswego, six  new   institutions  of  a  similar  kind  had
been  established, in  accordance  with  the acts of 1866,
1867, and  1868, at Brockport, Fredonia, Cortland, Potsdam, Geneseo, and  Buffalo.   Classes for instruction  in
the  "science  of  Common  School teaching,"  had  been
maintained  during  the past year in  eighty-nine academies  of  the  State, in  which  1,489 pupils were in  attendance, 426 of whom  were  males, and  1,026 females.
In  conclusion, the  Superintendent observes:
"In response to the statutory requisition for'plans and suggestions for
the improvement of the schools and the advancement of public instruction in
the State,' I have no radical theories to propose. In my judgment, real progress is not to be promoted by efforts of that kind, at this juncture. So far
as the public schools are concerned, the State is in possession of educational
machinery, the product of long time, earnest thought, and large experience,
recently molded, and newly put into operation. To introduce abrupt changes
now, would involve the abandonment of plans which, upon their first trial,
have produced the best results ever attained, and promise, in their maturity,
still more abundant success.  The existing system, though by no means
complete, is much more perfect in structure than in operation, and it seems
to be the dictate of sound policy to labor for improvement by a strict and
vigorous administration in all its parts. While the gratifying progress
already achieved is no excuse for tolerating admitted defects, it is not to be
forgotten that the best theories must bend in their application to unyielding
circumstances. A systematic gradation of all our schools, in such a manner
that scholars could advance from primary instruction through an orderly and
progressive course of study, would be an unquestionable advantage. In the
cities and villages, where the concentration of population affords facilities
that do not exist in the rural districts, this plan has been adopted with the
most satisfactory results. But it is a primary requirement that the public
schools be accessibly located, to be generally useful, and this will perpetuate
the problem of perfecting mixed schools, such as we now have, composed of
scholars of diverse ages and degrees of advancement. This, in my estimation
is not to be solved by an overstrained attempt to introduce a multiplicity of




SIXTH  PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL TRIUMPH.                   399
studies, many of them beyond the grasp and capacity of those to whom they
may be assigned, but rather by the dissemination of such just views, through
the agency of supervision, as shall beget a wholesome public sentiment, constraining attendance, and by thorough and rational instruction in the elementary branches.  Unsound scholarship, decorated with the ornamental
drapery of superficial learning, in mockery of education, is a sham that
deserves to be disrobed. Advanced study is not to be despised, when well
grounded. But the first and broad necessity is to furnish the best possible
instruction in the Common Schools, where the masses of the people receive
their only tuition, and in the common branches, which all men and women
need to understand. To this end it will be my endeavor to use such authority and means as may be intrusted to me by the Legislature."
On  the  3d  of  February, 1870, the  Superintendent
transmitted to the Legislature his second annual report.
"The people of this State," he observed, "evidently await the annual
account of the operation and condition of their system of public instruction,
with expectations corresponding to the magnitude, character, and cost of the
work. There is no other department of their government for which they pay
so much and so cheerfully; none so essential to their welfare; none so deeply
imbedded in their affections. They regard it as the source of their social
happiness; the conservator of public order; the foundation of their political
privileges. It conveys to their homes the blessings of intelligence and refinement; it does more than any other agency to render theoretical equality
actual; and affords the most certain assurance that our free institutions shall
continue. Those who have such a great interest at stake are naturally solicitous concerning its management. They have a right to demand that the
system shall be conscientiously administered; that the funds dedicated to the
support of the schools shall be faithfully applied; and that the instruction
given shall be pure and thorough." * *
" The effort to extend to all the youth in the State the advantages of
education, during the year reported, closing Sept. 30, 1869, was more than
ordinarily successful. Even the remarkable improvement that occurred during the first year of departure from rate-bills has been not only sustained, but
surpassed; and the statistics, herewith submitted, show results for the second
year of the operation of the FREE SCHOOL SYSTEM, which commend it to the
confidence and support of all who believe that UNIVERSAL EDUCATION is the
end to be attained."
The whole number  of  school districts in  the  State
was  11,748,  with   11,703  school-houses,  the  reported
value of which, together with the sites, was $18,449,048,
and  their average  value  in  the  cities, $29,400.52, and
in  the rural districts, $678.17.




400            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
"These figures show," observes the Superintendent,
"that the average value of school-houses in the rural
districts is nearly fifty-seven per cent. greater than it
was  three  years ago.  This rapid increase in value
proves that the people  appreciate the importance of
comfortable and commodious school-houses, and that,
encouraged by a State system which promises stability,
and which affords increased facilities each year for the
acquirement of useful instruction, they are willing to
tax themselves largely to  assist in carrying  out the
plan."  The amount expended during the year 1869 for
school-houses, out-houses, sites, fences, furniture, and
repairs was $2,455,453, of which $1,401,464 was expended
in the cities, and $1,053,999 in the rural districts.
The whole number of children between the ages of
five and twenty-one, residing in the several districts,
was 1,463,299, of whom  607,583 were in the cities, and
855,716 in the rural districts. Of these, 998,664 attended
the Common Schools during some portion of the year,
being an increase of nearly 28,000 over the attendance
of the preceding year.  The average daily attendance
was 468,421.  Since the abolition of the rate-bill system  both the aggregate  and average attendance had
largely increased, while the school term  had been considerably lengthened, "thus justifying,"  says the Superintendent, "the prophecies of the friends of the
plan of free education, and even exceeding their most
sanguine expectations."   The schools had been kept
open, throughout the State, for an average period of
thirty-five weeks, during the year.
The whole number of pupils instructed in the several Common Schools, Normal Schools, academies colleges, and private schools of the State, during the year
1869, was 1,161,155,-showing upwards of 300,000 children




SIXTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL TRIUMPH.              401
residing in  the  State, between  the  ages of five and
twenty-one, not under instruction in any of these institutions, during any portion of the year.   The number
of teachers employed in the several Common Schools,
during the year, was 28,310, of whom  6,230 were males,
and  22,080, females, at an  average  annual salary of
$642.87, in the cities, and $267.86, in the rural districts,
or  $15.16  per week  in  the  former, and $7.86 in the
latter.  The amount expended for teachers' wages, during
the year, was $6,029,180.59, of which $2,790,068.90 were
expended in  the  cities, and  $3,302,111.69 in the rural
districts, showing an aggregate increase of nearly half
a million of dollars over the preceding year. The number of volumes in the district libraries was 1,026,130:
it appearing from  previous reports of the Department
that, in  about 8,000 districts, the  library money had
been transferred, by a vote of the inhabitants, to the
purchase  of  school apparatus  and  the  payment of
teachers' wages.
The avails of the State school tax of one and one-quarter mills upon each
dollar of the assessed valuation of the State
for the first fiscal year reported were............... $2,207,000 00
The receipts from the Common School fund........  170,000 00
"'i "        U. S. Deposits fund..........  165,000 00
$2,542,000 00'
Of   this  amount, $2,425,822.36  were  apportioned
among  the  several counties, towns, and districts, for
the support of schools.  The sums raised by city and
district tax for the same  purpose, in accordance with
the provisions of the Act of 1867, were, in the former,
$4,243,631.62, and in the latter, $2,671,632.24,-anmounting in all to $6,915,253.86.  These funds, together with
$30,478.12, derived  from   the  proceeds of local school
funds, $322,928.05, the  estimated  value  of  teachers'
26




402                   COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
board  in  the rural districts, and  $223,304.24, derived  from
other  sources,  together  with  the  balance  remaining  on
hand, unexpended  from  the preceding year, $1,394,538.53,
amounting  in  all to  $11,312,325.36, was expended  in  the
following manner:
Cities.      Rural districts.    Totals.
For teachers' wages........ $2790,068 90   $3,302,111 69   $6,092,180 59
For libraries..............      11,703 82       15,194 03        26,897 85
For school apparatus......    177,741 71          23,741 77       201,483 48
For colored schools........      58,363 82         6,006 18        64,370 00
For school-houses, sites, &c.,  1,401,464 03    1,053,988 98    2,455,453 01
For incidental expenses....   641,113 43         404,921 41    1,046,034 84
Forfeitures................                          366 52           366 52
Balance on hand, Oct. 1....  1,206,575 32        218,963 75    1,425,539 07
$6,287,031 03   $5,025,294 33  $11,312,325 36
Deducting from these totals the amount remaining on hand, the actual expense of maintaining the schools for the year 1869 was,
In the cities.............................. $5,080,455 71
In the rural districts......................   4,806,330 58
Total...................................... $9,886,786 29
Showing an increase of $845,844.27 over the preceding year.
Under the provisions of the act of 1853, permitting
the  inhabitants  of adjoining  districts  to  resolve  themselves  into   Union   Free  School  districts,  with  boards
of education  possessing  authority  to  grade  and  classify
the   several  schools   under  their   charge,  and   other
special  powers,  about two  hundred  and  fifty  of these
Union  Schools  had  been   organized,  chiefly  in  villages
and thickly populated towns.
" The condition of the school district libraries," says the Superintendent,
"is notorious.  To describe it, would be simply to rehearse, with little
variation, the oft repeated story of neglect and waste that may be found in
every annual report from this Department for the last fifteen years. Popular
indifference is much to blame for this deplorable condition; but the lax policy
of the State, which has permitted the library money to be used for other purposes, is still more culpable. Except in the comparatively few cases of cities
and populous districts, where the amount of money received has been con



SIXTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL TRIUMPH.                      403
siderable, and has been faithfully applied, the system (if such it can properly
be called, as now regulated by law), is little better than a bungling device to
fritter away $55,000 annually, under the pretense of increasing, but with the
practical effect, as the statistics show, of reducing the number of books from
year to year. A plan originally framed to befriend libraries, has been vitiated by later enactments, so that it has operated to rob them, destroy respect
for them, and well nigh ruin them. The management of the system  is
suicidal.  With one hand, the State deals out money to the districts for the
professed object of supporting the libraries, and at the same time, with the
other hand, offers a permit to apply the funds to other uses, with a suggestion, if not an open recommendation, to do so. That practice, as was predicted years ago by Superintendent MORGAN, has proved demoralizing and
ruinous. From 1838 till 1851, the towns were required to provide an amount
equal to that furnished by the State. The people then understood that the
enterprise was esteemed worthy the support derived from both these sources;
and they correctly judged that books were worth caring for and using.
During that period there was such a steady growth, that in 1853 the whole
number of volumes amounted to 1,604,210.  From that time the effect of
relinquishing the contribution from the towns began to manifest itself, and the
decline commenced. But in 1858 a more pernicious provision was adopted,
allowing districts upon certain conditions, which have been sometimes complied with, but more frequently disregarded, to use the money for apparatus
and teachers' wages. The decline was thereby accelerated, and has continued
without interruption; so that in 1858, the whole number of volumes was
1,402,253; in 1863, 1,172,404; in 1868, 1,064,830, and in 1869, 1,026,130.
Thus it appears that since 1853, there has been a decrease of more than half
a million in the number of books reported, notwithstanding there has been
apportioned to the districts $880,000 of library money!
i' Such is the lamentable exhibition bf the thriftless policy the State is
pursuing, and of the disastrous end to which that course is rapidly tending.
The system should be promptly and thoroughly reformed, or speedily abolished.
I recommend that it be reformed.     *      *       *      *       *
"The first thing to be done, is to change the too-well grounded popular
impression, that the State is not in earnest in this matter. It is indispensable
that the public mind be firmly impressed with the conviction that the library
money is to be sacredly applied to the purchase of books, and that on no pretext
whatever shall one cent of it be used for any other object. Entertaining this
view, I have ceased to exercise the discretionary authority now vested in the
Superintendent, to allow a diversion of the money; and have determinednot
to grant hereafter any permission of that kind.  The provision of law conferring that power should be repealed; and each district, before it shall have
the right to draw from the supervisor the money apportioned to it for a
library, should be required to raise an equal sum for the same object."
Fifty-six  Teachers' Institutes  were  held  during  the
year reported, with  an   attendance  during  two  weeks
of  3,009  male  and  6,486  female  teachers.




404            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
The number of Indian schools in operation, in the
several reservations, was twenty-six; the number of
teachers employed 39, of whom  17 were Indians. Upwards of one thousand pupils were in attendance during
portions of the year, with an average daily attendance
of 482, during a period of thirty-three weeks.
Six Normal Schools were in successful operation in
different sections of the State-at Albany, Oswego,
Brockport, Cortland, Potsdam  and Buffalo. An additional one at Geneseo was in process of erection. The
whole  number of pupils under  instruction in these
institutions, including those in the model and primary
departments, was upwards of 4,000
Teachers' classes had also been maintained in ninety
academies designated for that purpose by the Regents
of the University, with an attendance of 546 male and
1,000 female pupils.
The annual convention of School Commissioners and
City Superintendents, was held  at Ithaca, in  July,
simultaneously with the meeting of the State Teachers'
Association.
During the session of the' Legislature of 1869, a bill
was introduced in the Assembly "to abolish the Board
of Regents of the University, and to establish a State
Board of Education," charged with the general supervision of all the public schools, academies and colleges
in the State, and with the administration of the laws
relating to them. This bill was referred to the Committee on Public Education, who, without expressing
any opinion upon its merits, reported it for the consideration of the House, together with a resolution,
which was adopted, instructing the Superintendent of
Public Instruction to  report to the next Legislature
what legislation, if any, in his judgment was necessary




SIXTH PERIOD. —FREE SCHOOL TRIUMPH.           405
to place the colleges, academies, and  free  schools of
the State, under a more efficient management.
In  answer to  this resolution,  the  Superintendent,
after recapitulating the distinctive powers, duties, and
functions of these several institutions, and of the officers
delegated by the State with their general and special
supervision, and discussing the practicability of placing
the instruction  furnished by the several academies on
the same footing with those of the Common Schoolsa measure  which  he deems inexpedient and unwise,
except by the voluntary action  of those  immediately
interested  in  such  action-recommends  the  passage
of an act containing the following leading proposition:
"That the Board of Regents be made      e part of the Department of Education, as are commissioners and other
school officers, having specific  duties substantially the
same as those now  performed by them, and in addition
that they be required to visit and inspect the several
Normal  Schools; that  their report be  made  to  the
head of the Department; and that it be incorporated
in his annual report to the Legislature, so  that one
document may present a complete view of the working
of the entire system  of education in the State."
With reference to the proposition for the establishment of a State Board of Education, the Superintendent conclusively  demonstrates the  comparative  inefficiency of such  a Board, however ably constituted, as
a substitute for a single executive officer charged with
the general supervision of the entire  system;  and in
conclusion observes:
" The Public School system of this State is but an orderly plan of the
people to educate themselves. For more than half a century they have been
engaged in perfecting it, adopting every known improvement, with little
regard to expense. From a partial and humble provision at the outset, they
have built it up to the present comprehensive proportions, which embrace




406              COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
every locality and every class, and manage it with a liberality that offers to
all a free and sufficient education. They will permit alterations for the better,
but they will not consent to its disintegration. Experience has demonstrated to
their satisfaction that the enterprise is profitable, and they desire to have it
perpetuated. The popular intelligence in this State is worth more than it
cost; and is priceless to those who would be without it but for the Public
Schools.       *        *      *     *     *     *      *
"The simplest duty the State can exact of public officers is fidelity to the
trust committed to their care.  I RESPECTFULLY RECOMMEND THAT THE
FREE SCHOOL SYSTEM BE GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED, AND THAT ITS INTEGRITY
BE PRESERVED. THIS EXPRESSION OF MY OWN JUDGMENT, I BELIEVE, SPEAKS
A PUBLIC SENTIMENT TOO EMPHATIC TO BE MISUNDERSTOOD, TOO JUST TO BE
DISOBEYED, TOO STRONG TO BE RESISTED, AND, I TRUST, ACCORDS WITH THE
DISPOSITION OF THE LEGISLATURE."
In  the  city  of NEW  YORK, the  whole  number of
schools under the jurisdiction of the Board of Education, in 1853, the period when the consolidation of the
Public and Ward Schools took effect, was 269, consisting of 52 Grammar Schools for boys, 52 for girls, 110
Primary Departments and Schools, 14 Colored Schools,
10 Corporate and Asylum  Schools, 27 Evening Schools,
3  Saturday  Normal Schools, and  the  Free Academy.
The whole number of pupils taught during the  year
was 123,530, which  in  1862 had  increased  to 192,684,
and in 1870 to 239,612, with an  average daily attendance of 103,708.  The number of teachers employed in
1853  was  925, of whom  781 were  females.  In 1862,
this number had increased to 1,896, of whom 1,700 were
females, and  in  1870, to  2,683, of whom  2,320 were
females.   The  aggregate  amount of expenditures  for
the support of the schools, during the year 1853, was
$917,853.32, of which $785,141.64 were raised by city
taxation.   Of this aggregate  amount about $400,000
were  expended  in  the  payment  of teachers' wages,
$40,000 in  the  support of the  Free  Academy, $6,000
for  Normal  Schools,  $32,635  for  Evening  Schools,
$19,548 for the Corporate Schools, $70,000 for the supply of text-books, stationery, &c., $9,780 for rent of




SIXTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL TRIUMPH.          407
school buildings, $16,000 for repairs, $200,000 for the
purchase of sites and the building and furnishing of
school-houses, and $100,000 for other incidental expenses
of the Board of Education. In 1862, this aggregate had
increased to $1,648,317.43, of which $1,143,540.85 had
been raised by city taxation; $822,977 were paid for
teachers' wages, $82,958 for school apparatus and supplies, $16,195 for Colored Schools, $285,000 for building,
repairing, and furnishing  school-houses, and the purchase of sites, and $177,000 for incidental expenses of
the Board, salaries of officers, &c.  In 1870, the  aggregate  amount expended  was  $2,817,000, of  which
$1,959,783 were raised by city taxation.  The amount
expended  for  teachers'  wages  was $1,809,243;  for
school apparatus and supplies, $136,976; for Colored
Schools, $41,837; for building, repairing, and furnishing
school-houses, and the purchase of sites, $39, 86; and
for incidental expenses of the Board, and salaries of
its officers, $300,000.  The estimated value of schoolhouses and sites was $6,020,000, of which $520,000 were
invested in sites; and the number of volumes in the
school libraries was 10,075, valued at $5,000.
On  the 30th  of April, 1869, an Act was passed
changing the composition  of the Board of Education
from  elective  Commissioners, representing  the  seven
districts into which the city had been formed by a
previous act for this purpose, to twelve Commissioners,
to be originally designated by the Mayor, and, after
the year 1871, elected by the people on separate tickets, containing the names of seven only of the candidates, leaving the remaining five to be appointed by
the  Mayor from  the candidates  receiving  the  next
highest votes-the Commissioners so elected and appointed to hold office for the term  of three years.




408           COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
The Board of Commissioners  appointed by Mayor
HALL, under the provisions of this act, and who are
to serve during the present year, were RICHARD L.
LARREMORE, TIMOTHY  BRENNAN, SAMUEL A. LEWIS,
WILLIAM E. DURYEA, WILLIAM WOOD, JOHN H. SHERWOOD, NATHANIEL SANDS, MAGNUS GROSS, BERNARD
SMYTH, LORIN INGERSOLL, THOMAS MURPHY, and ISAAC
BELL —the Mayor, as directed by the act, recognizing
in such appointments the principle of minority representation.  RICHARD L. LARREMORE was elected President, and WILLIAM HITCHMAN, Clerk of the new Board.
The former, having been elected to a high judicial office
in the city, resigned his position in April last, and was
succeeded by BERNARD SMYTH, Esq., as President, and
by NATHANIEL JARVIS, Jr., as a member of the Board.
Mr. HITCHMAN was also succeeded as Clerk by LAWRENCE KIERNAN, Esq. S. RSANDALL, having held
the position of City Superintendent during a period of
sixteen years, since 1854, declined a re-election, and
was succeeded, on the 1st of June, 1870, by HENRY
KIDDLE, Esq., who, together with S. W. SETON, THOMAS
F. HARRISoN, WILLIAM JONES, and NORMAN A. CALKINS, had occupied the position of Assistant Superintendents.  THOMAS FANNING was appointed Assistant
Superintendent in the place of Mr. KIDDLE.
The system of EVENING SCHOOLS for the instruction
of those whose avocations or pursuits precluded attendance upon the day schools, had, at an early period, been
inaugurated by the Board of Education; and thirty-one
schools, including a High School for the instruction of
advanced male pupils, had been organized, and were in
successful operation from the 1st of October to the
15th of February (in the High school until the 1st of
April), in each year, seventeen for male, eleven for




SIXTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL TRIUMPH.        409
female, and three for colored pupils of both sexes. A
NORMAL SCHOOL for the benefit of the teachers of the
several city schools, had also been  opened on Saturday of each week, during the term  of instruction, by
the Public School Society, and adopted by the Board
of Education, over which LEONARD HAZELTINE, Principal of School No. 13, presided, assisted by Miss SuSAN WRIGHT, also Principal of one of the Female Departments of the city schools, and a competent corps
of instructors. This was succeeded in 1870, by the establishment of a daily NORMAL COLLEGE for the preparation of teachers, of which THOMAS HUNTER, Esq.,
Principal of Grammar School No. 35, was appointed
President, ARTHUR HENRY DUNDEN, Esq., Vice President and Miss LYDIA F. WADLEIGH, Principal of the
Senior Department of Grammar School 47, Lady Superintendent. An Experimental, or Model School, under the charge of Miss MARTHA A. DOAK, Vice Principal of the Primary  Department of Grammar School
No. 14, was also organized. These schools are now in
successfil operation,  with  upwards of 1,200 pupils.
The Saturday Normal School was also retained as a
part of the system for the instruction of teachers of
the several city schools already employed. The title
of the Free Academy was changed by the Legislature
in 1868 to that of the "COLLEGE OF THE CITY OF NEW
YORK," and on the resignation  of Dr. WEBSTER, in
the ensuing year, Major-General ALEXANDER S. WEBB
was  appointed  President.  This institution  annually
gratuitously educates about 800 pupils, graduates of
the Public Schools, in all the studies  of a college
course, conferring  the  usual collegiate  degrees.  A
HIGH SCHOOL, with a course of study intermediate between the Public Schools and the lowest collegiate class,




410               COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
has also been established by the Board of Education for
male pupils of which DANIEL B. SCOTT is Head Master.
The general superiority and efficiency of the system
of public instruction in the city of New York may be
perceived through  the following  extracts  from  the report in April, 1866, of a Committee  of the  Common
Council of the city  of Boston, consisting of the Hon.
F. W. LINCOLN, Mayor; three members  of the Board
of Aldermen; the Committee  on  Public Instruction  of
the Board of Councilmen; four members of the Board
of School Commissioners, and John D. PHILBRICK, Esq.,
the City  Superintendent.  After  a thorough  inspection
of the Public Schools of the city, they say:
"Under the administration of the system, as carried out by the Board of
Education, a degree of order, precision, and energy of action has been attained, which has carried, and if persevered in must continue to carry forward the great work of popular education in the city of New York with a
steady and strong progress, both in the broadness of its diffusion and the excellence of its character."  *  *  "If the Board of Education retain their
present powers, and act with the wisdom and energy they have heretofore
manifested, there will, in a few years be a system of public education, and a
condition of the public schools, altogether in advance, probably, of anything to be found in this country."
At about the same period, the Rev. JAMES FRASER,
a member of the Board  of Commissioners appointed by
the English government to  enquire into  the  Common
School system  of the United States and Canada, spent
several weeks in the examination  and investigation  of
the New  York City  schools.  In his report laid before
Parliament, he says:
"The  field of  administration  of  these  New  York
school authorities is the most extensive in America-I
suppose, in the mere article of education, and considering the details into which it descends, the most extensive
int the world."
Similar  high  testimonials  of the  character of these




- - - --- - - -   - --                                                   -7 - -                               -- = —=   — =  -  - -  -  =                  --- - -
Iilll~I                      s ~
POTSDAM NX)0RAIM  S(CH 1O,








SIXTH  PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL TRIUMPH.                   411
schools  were  given  by  a  Legislative  Committee  appointed at the same time to inquire into their efficiency,
and by a numerous delegation from  the Boards of Education of the cities of Baltimore and Philadelphia.
The following extract from  the annual report of the
City Superintendent, for 1857, will afford  a general description of the condition of the system of Public Schools
in the city of New  York, which, with very slight modifications, may  be  regarded  as  applicable  to  those  of
the other cities and large villages of the  State, at this
period:
" There can be little doubt that in respect to all the essential elements which
go to make up a practical and efficient system of popular education and public instruction, the Grammar and Primary Schools and Departments of the
city of New York, with their appendages-the Evening Schools, the Normal
Schools, and the Free Academy, are fully equal, if not superior, to any in the
world. For this excellence they are indebted, primarily, to the long continued
and persevering exertions of those public-spirited and enlightened men
who first conceived the idea of bringing home the blessings of education to
the children of the poor and destitute, and then expanded that idea so as to
embrace the children of all classes and conditions at the common expense of
all who were capable of contributing in any degree to so noble an object;
but secondarily and chiefly, to that constant and vigilant supervision, by the
members of the Public School Society and Board of Education, their agents
and officers, and the trustees and inspectors of the several Wards; to the pernianent employment, at liberal salaries, of well qualified teachers; and to the
adoption and maintenance in all the schools under their charge, of a uniform
system of discipline, and of intellectual and moral instruction, admirably
adapted to the judicious and harmonious development of the various faculties
and capacities of the pupils. In all these respects, no other change seems
desirable than such as the system itself is capable of evolving from its own
materials-from the progress and advancement of educational science-from
the improvements which experience, observation, and mutual interchange of
views among teachers, School officers and friends of education are constantly suggesting and from the pressure of a liberal and enlightened public sentiment, which cannot fail to appreciate the absolute necessity and paramount importance of a generous and universal education.
"One great and distinguishing excellence of our Public School system
consists in the combination, which it unquestionably realizes, of a sound and
thorough intellectual and moral culture, with the most agreeable and pleasant
occupation of the time devoted to this object. Education, so far from as



412                  COMMON  SCHOOL  SYSTEM.
suming the form, too common in the history of the past, and still too prevalent in the experience of the present, of a stern and repulsive task, has with
us been converted into a high and rational source of enjoyment and happiness. Our numerous school edifices are, both externally and internally, with few
and rapidly decreasing exceptions, spacious, commodious, tasteful and pleasant-furnished with every convenience requisite to the comfortable accommodation of all-and presenting every inducement to the most careful and
considerate parent to place his children within their walls. The order and
discipline of the scholars, in all their departments and classes, are such as
cannot but commend themselves to the admiration and approval of all. From
two to four hundred children in each of the Grammar and Primary Schools,
and from eight hundred to a thousand, and in some instances fifteen hundred
children, in the Primary departments of the Grammar Schools, are each morning assembled quietly and systematically, without noise, confusion or disorder.
Amid the profoundest stillness and attention, a select portion of the Christian
Scriptures is read by the Principal or some officer of the Board or clergyman
in attendance; the Lord's Prayer is then reverently repeated by the children,
after the Principal, in concert; at the close of which, at the touch of the
teacher's bell, their little voices, accompanied by the piano, break out into the
beautiful music of their devotional and other songs-and then each class
passes to its own rooms, under the charge of its instructor, to enter upon the
various duties of the day. At the end of two or three hours they are again
assembled for a temporary recess, made delightful by vocal and instrumental
music, and alternated by relaxation and exercise in the ample play grounds;
and, at the close of the school session, dissmissed in perfect order.  Thus
pleasantly and happily the hours pass away in an atmosphere of love, kindness, and improvement; and the acquisition of knowledge is accompanied
by the formation of habits of order, industry, punctuality, neatness, and
mutual affection and regard. The school-room and its associations are rendered attractive and desirable to all-most attractive and desirable to those who
stand most in need of their elevating and refining influences, and who, but
for this beneficent agency, might never have known the blessings of a wellordered and happy home, or participated in the inestimable advantages of
a Christian education.
"At frequent intervals these schools are thrown open to the special visitation and inspection of the public,-to whom, indeed, they are at all times accessible-and on such occasions, the happy and animated countenances of the
children, as their studies ar&reviewed, their compositions and declamations
heard, their music and songs listened to, their needle-work, embroidery,
penmanship, and drawing inspected by deeply interested and admiring
crowds of visitors, and their premiums and rewards for scholarship, punctual
attendance and good behavior awarded-sufficiently indicate the happiness
which diffuses itself over this important portion of their young lives. Those
only who have been familiar with the dreary and repulsive walls, the cheerless
and desolate aspect, and the wearisome and  monotonous routine of the
schools of the olden time-who have witnessed and sympathized with the




SIXTH  PERIOD.-FREE  SCHOOL TRIUMPH.                     413
protracted sufferings of the hapless little ones, condemned to pass hours, days
and months of ill-concealed torture on the miserable apologies for benches, without backs, and in rooms open to the rudest assaults of the wind and the tempest
-who have listened to their shrieks as they were subjected to the brutal and unfeeling castigation of morose, ill-tempered and cruel pedagogues-and mourned over the time wasted and worse than wasted in these'relics of barbarism'
by ignorant, incompetent, and vicious teachers-can adequately realize the
important change which has been effected in these respects, within the past few
years, or fully appreciate the superiority of the present system of instruction."
The following table will show the aggregate and average attendance of
the several public schools in the city of New York, at the present time:
Whole number taught   Average
during the year.   Attendance.
47 Boys' Grammar Schools..... 32,600....... 16,158
42 Girls'            ".......... 29,151........ 14,077
54 Primary Departments............88,391........37,352
40 Primary Schools.............. 41,890....... 17,050
6 Schools for Colored Children...... 2,033......  785
50 Corporate Schools...............19,323........ 7,129
32 Evening Schools................. 24,084....... 10,407
1 Normal College.................. 1,200........    900
1 College of the City of New York.. 1,000.......  850
273             Total............... 239,672       104,708
No. of Teachers, 2,796; Males, 400; Females, 2,300; Special Teachers of
French, German, Music, and Drawing, 53.
In  the  city   of  BROOKLYN, since  the  consolidation
of  that city   with  Williamsburgh  and   Bushwick,  the
number of  school-houses  has  rapidly  increased, and  a
greatly   superior  style  of  architecture   was  adopted.
The  present  number  is   47,  with   42   Grammar  and
29 Primary  Departments, 13 Primary  Schools, 4 Colored
Schools  4  Asylum   Schools,  and  10  Evening   Schools.
In  1862, there  were  in  these  schools  28  male  and  190
female teachers, in all, 218; in 1870, these numbers
had  increased  to  60 male  and  740  female teachers,  in
all,  800.  In  1862, the  total  expenditures  for  school
purposes  was $314,927.96, of which  $170,200  were  raised by  city  taxation;  while in  1870, the  aggregate  expenditure   had  risen  to  $947,411.99,  of which  $707,726
was   raised  by  tax.  Of  this   amount,  $590,000  were




414            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
expended in  the  payment of teachers' wages, $5,000
for school apparatus, $8,536 for colored schools, $9,317
in  the  purchase  of sites, and  about $4,000,000 in
building, purchasing, hiring, repairing  and  insuring
school-houses, and  incidental  expenses  in  warming,
lighting, and cleaning  the  school-rooms, salaries of
officers, &c. The number of volumes in the several
school libraries is 37,000, valued at $50,000; and the
estimated value of school-houses and sites is $2,241,784.
The chief supervision  of the schools remains in the
hands of JOHN W. BULKLFY, Esq., who is assisted by
JAMES CRUIKSHANK, LL. D. The Presidency  of the
Board of Education has been ably filled during the
past twenty years by CYRUS P. SMITH, Esq., and Dr.
JOHN S. THORNE.
Superintendent BULKLEY, in his annual report to
the State Department for 1869, says:  "If, in the review  of our labor and its results, we find in our educational interest a stronger and more lealthy pulse, a
higher appreciation  of the character and  importance
of our work, and a more liberal spirit, prompting to
intelligent and self-sacrificing action, then we think we
may say, without fear of contradiction, that substantial
progress has been made. In evidence of this, we take
pleasure in pointing to  the new school-houses which
have been built during the year, and to others now in
process of building; to the modernizing, enlargement,
and improvement of others, by which much additional
room has been gained, and the facilities for instruction
greatly increased; to  a more intelligent appreciation
of the  duties of the  school, by the teachers, and to
the devotion, zeal, and perseverance apparent in the
discharge of their daily duties; to a larger attendance
and higher average of the pupils, than during any pre



SIXTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL TRIUMPH.         415
vious year; and to the results of study and instruction, in which we find that a higher standard has
been attained, and more thorough work accomplished;
and farther, to an increased popular feeling in favor of
the  public  schools generally.  This is seen  in  the
pressure  upon the schools for admittance, in which
multitudes fail, because there is no room  to receive
and accommodate them.  In view  of these and other
considerations, we feel that we have good evidence
of a healthy state, and the promise of future prosperity for the schools."        X  "By comparing the preceding, with  corresponding  statements  of
former years, it will be seen that the last year shows a
large advance over any preceding one, in every particular. But notwithstanding all this, the rapid increase
of our population is much in excess of the provision
made for the accommodation and instruction  of the
children and youth of the city, who seek for admission
into the public schools"
The number of pupils in attendance on the several
schools of the city during the year 1867 was 54,844;
in 1869 this number had increased to 85,795, with an
average daily register of 35,000. In 1870, -however, the
aggregate attendance had fallen off to 72,286, and the
average to 25,229.
In  the  city  of BUFFALO, the number of public
schools had increased from  34 in 1862, to 41 in 1869,the number of teachers, from 218 to 365, of whom 311
were females; the number of pupils under instruction,
from 15,386 to 21,180; and the annual expenditure for the
support of the schools, from $88,598.67 to $259,883.91,
of which $201,552.13 had been raised by city tax. The
number of volumes in the several district libraries was
14,187; and the estimated value of the school-houses and
sites, $508,477.  The City Superintendents. during the




416            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
interval, between 1862 and 1870, were, J. B. SACKETT,
1863; HENRY A. GARVIN, 1864-5; J. S. FOSDICK, 1867;
SAMUEL SLADE, 1868-9; and THOMAS LOTHROP, 1870.
In the  city  of ROCHESTER, the number of public
schools had increased from  17 in 1862 to 19 in 1869;
the number of teachers, from  107 to 172, of whom 157
were females; the number of pupils under instruction,
from  8,552 to 10,583; and the annual expenditure for
the support of the schools, from $79,000 to $143,864.53,
of which $60,000 was raised by city tax; the number of
volumes in the several district libraries was 4,297; and
the estimated value of the school-houses and sites,
$157,000; City Superintendents-D. HOLBROOK, 1862-4;
C. N. SIMMONS, 1865-9; S. A. ELLIS, 1870.
In the city of HUDSON, there are in the four public
schools, 19 teachers, of whom 17 are females; the number of pupils has increased from 1,244 in 1862 to 1,772
in 1869; and the annual expenditure for the support
of the schools, from $7,000 to $16,047, of which $7,000
was raised by city tax; the number of volumes in the
several district libraries is 1,150; and the estimated
value of the school-houses and sites, $34,000; City Superintendents-L. G. GUERNSEY, 1863; JAMES N. TOWNSEND, 1864-5-6; R. F. CLARK, 1867; J. N. TOWNSEND,
1869-70.
In the city of Oswego, there are in the fourteen
districts, 6 male and 80 female teachers, with an increase in the number of pupils, from  4,000 in 1862 to
4.823 in 1869; and the annual expenditure, from $36,000
to $74,227, of which $49,497 was raised by city taxation;
there are 4,000 volumes in the several district libraries;
and the estimated value of the school-houses and sites
was $124,180. E. A. SHELDON, Esq., occupied the position of City Superintendent until 1869, when he was
succeeded by V. C. DOUGLASS, Esq.




SIXTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL TRIUMPH.        417
In POUGHKEEPSIE, there are in  the seven public
schools 2 male and 50 female teachers, with an increase of the number of pupils, from 2,500 in 1866 to
2,865 in 1869, and  of the annual expenditure, from
$10,916.63 to $26,145.31, of which $13,000 was raised
by tax; the number of volumes in the district library
is 7,637; and the estimated value of the school-houses
and sites, $54,500. The officers of the Board of Education, acting as City Superintendent, were, in 1863,
E. J. BUCKINGHAM, President in 1864-5; G. C. BURNAP,
President in 1867; R, BRITTAIN, Clerk  in 1868; C. A.
ANDRUS, Clerk in 1869-70; R. BRITTAIN, Clerk.
In SCHENECTADY, there are in the six public schools
2 male and 29 female teachers, with an attendance of
1,950 pupils against 1,932 in 1862. The annual expenditure has increased from  $11,448.92 to $17,755.24, of
which $10,320 was raised by tax. There are 3,000 volumes  in  the  district libraries;  and the  estimated
value of the  school-houses and sites is $43,000.  The
City Superintendents were BENJAMIN  STANTON, E. A.
CHARLTON, and S. B. HOWE.
In the city of ALBANY, there are in the eighteen
public  schools  33  male  and  106 female  teachers,
with an attendance of 9,713 pupils, against 9,614 in
1862.  The  annual  expenditure for the support of
the  schools has  increased  from  $71,429 in 1862 to
$144,834, of which $103,624 was raised  by city tax,
The number of volumes in the district libraries is
5,268; and the estimated value of the school-houses
and sites, $215,500.  The Secretaries of the Board of
Education  and City Superintendents were HENRY B.
HASWELL, JOHN  HURDIS, JOHN MORGAN, Secretaries;
H. B. HASWELL and JOHN O. COLE, City Superintendents.
27




418            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
In AUBURN, there are seven districts, with 7 male
and 49 female teachers, and an attendance of about
3,000 pupils, against 2,420 in 1862. The annual expenditure for the support of schools has increased from
$16,401 in 1862 to $27,976, of which $19,918 was raised
by city tax.  The number of volumes in the district
libraries is 2,550; and the estimated value of schoolhouses and sites, $80,500.  City Superintendents-C. P.
WILLIAMS, WARREN HIGLEY, and E. A. CHARLTON.
In SYRACUSE, there are in the sixteen  districts 10
male and 178 female teachers, with an increase in the
number of children  under instruction, from  5,822 in
1862 to 7,738 in 1869, and of the expenditure for the
support of schools, from $34,212.61 to $191,244, of which
$113,900 was raised by city taxation. The number of
volumes in the libraries is only 800; and the estimated
value of the school-houses and  sites, $440,000.  The
City  Superintendents  were  GEORGE  L. FARNHAM,
CHARLES E. STEVENS, and E. SMITH.
In TROY, there are in  the eighteen  districts 18
male and 139 female teachers, with an attendance of
10,420 pupils, against 8,045 in 1862, and an increase of
expenditure, from  $39,000 in that year to $104,677.85,
of which $74,440 were raised by city taxation; number
of volumes in the district libraries, 1,037; estimated
value of school-houses and sites, $215,000; City Superintendents —E. DANFORTH  and J. W. DUNHAM; President of Board of Education-WILLIAM KEMP.
The office of City Superintendent was created in October, 1862, and EDWARD DANFORTH, now State Deputy
Superintendent, appointed as the first Superintendent,
which position he continued to retain until 1868, when
he was transferred to the State Department.  Under
his efficient administration, a complete classification




SIXTH PERIOD.-FREE SCHOOL TRIUMPH.         419
and course of study was adopted in the several Public Schools of the city, upon one uniform  basis, with
annual promotions from  one grade to  another, and
semi-annual public  examinations  of all the  classes.
Oral instruction  was also  introduced throughout the
several grades, in the Primary, Intermediate and Grammar Schools.   Systematic  gymnastic  exercises were
carefully arranged  and  effectively carried  out in all
the departments. The High School, established in 1854,
enlarged and improved in 1859, and  incorporated by
the Regents of the University in 1863, exerted from
its origin a highly salutary influence upon the advancement and prosperity of the schools.  It is open and
free to all pupils over thirteen years of age possessing the requisite scholastic qualifications; and it possesses
a valuable chemical and philosophical apparatus and a
well selected library.
In the city of UTICA, there  are sixteen districts,
with  9 male and  54 female  teachers, and  an  attendance  of 4,199 pupils, against 3,552 in 1862, and
an increase of annual expenditure for the support of
the. schools, from $36,216 to $65,515, of which $31,300
were raised by city taxation.  The number of volumes
in the several school libraries is 4,648; and the estimated value of school-houses and sites, $185,673. The
City  Superintendents  were  D. S. HEFFRON  and  A.
MCMILLAN.
In BINGHAMTON, there are nine districts, with 10
male and 37 female teachers, and an attendance of 2,094
pupils, with an expenditure in 1869 of $23,000, of which
$17,552 were raised by city taxation; number of volumes
in district libraries, 2,188; estimated value of schoolhouses and sites, $60,000; GEORGE S. FARNHAM. City
Superintendent.




420            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
In  ELMIRA, there are seven districts, with 6 male
and 52 female teachers, and 3,492 pupils, and an expenditure, in 1869, of $75,623, of which $48,417 were
raised by city taxation; number of volumes in district
libraries, 1,103; estimated value of school-houses and
sites, $112,000; 0. BOBINSON  and A. S. FITCH, Secretaries of the Board of Education.
Similar special organizations also exist in WATERTOWN,
Jefferson county; LOCKPORT, Niagara county; NEWBURGH, Orange county; and OGDENSBURG, St. Lawrence
county, all of which are in a flourishing and prosperous
condition. The Union School district inl WATERTOWN,
organized in 1868, with a Union High School,-3 male
and 30 female teachers, with 903 pupils, and an expenditure, for 1869, of $16,297, of which $11,500 are
raised by tax; 3,555 volumes in the district libraries;
$46,500 invested in school-houses and sites; WILLIAM
G. WILLIAMS, Secretary of Board of Education.
The Union School at LOCKPORT has 3 male and 31
female teachers, with 3,080 pupils; expenditure in 1869,
$64,000 for school purposes, of which $52,350 were raised
by tax; has 3,500 volumes in district libraries, and an
investment of $56,000 in school-houses and sites. JAMES
FERGUSON, City Superintendent. NEWBURGH has seven
districts, 8 male and 34 female teachers, 3,338 pupils
under instruction, at a cost, in 1869, of $48,484, of
which $34,710.50 were raised by tax; 7,750 volumes in
the  district libraries, and  an  investment of  about
$100,000 in school-houses and sites. H. A. JONES, City
Superintendent. OGDENSBURGH has also seven districts,
11 male and 25 female teachers, 2,175 pupils, expends for
school purposes $16,000, of which $7,253 are raised by
tax; has about 3,000 volumes in the district libraries,
and an  investment of $66,500 in  school-houses and
sites,  R. B. LOWRY, City Superintendent.




NORMAL SCHOOLS.               421
OSWEGO NORMAL AND TRAINING SCHOOL.
This institution was organized by State legislation,
in 1867, by the adoption and enlargement of the
Training School previously established in 1863, and is
now one of the largest and most prosperous institutions of the kind in the country, having an attendance of about 500 pupils, and graduating annually
between 80 and 100.  EDWARD A. SHELDON, A. M.,
late City Superintendent, is the Principal and Professor
of Mathematics, a position which he has occupied since
the first organization of the institution; Joseph A.
Prindle, A. M., Head Master and Professor of Natural
Sciences and Ancient Languages; Isaac B. Poucher,
A. M., Teacher of Arithmetic and Algebra; Herman
Crusi, of Geometry, History, and Philosophy of Education, and of German and French; Mary Howe Smith,
Geography and History; Matilda S. Cooper, Methods
in Arithmetic, Grammar, and Object Lessons; Mrs. A.
T. Randall, Reading and Elocution; Sarah J. Armstrong, Rhetoric, English Literature, and Composition;
Mary E. Perkins, Drawing; Mary D. Sheldon, Gymnastics, Botany, and Latin; Martha McCumber, Principal Practicing Schools; and Kate Davis, of the Primary Department. Special attention is bestowed upon
the preparation of Primary School teachers. The Practicing School is composed of about 400 children of
primary and junior grades.




422            COMMION SCHOOL SYSTEM.
BROCKPORT TRAINING AND NORMAL SCHOOL.
Organized by act of the Legislature  of April 7,
1866.  The building  is constructed  of dark Medina
sandstone, in the Norman style of architecture; is 300
feet long, and consists of a main or central building,
50 by 60 feet, and two wings, each 50 by 75 feet;
together with two transverse wings, each 50 by 84 feet,
running east and west, one at the northern and the
other at the southern extremity. The central building
is four stories in height, and the two wings three
stories above the basement.  The grounds comprise
about six acres, at the head of College Street. Estimated value of building and grounds, $110,000; library
and  apparatus, $8,634.47;  furniture, $4,300;  in  all,
$122,934.47.
The Training School consists of a primary, an intermediate, and an academic department.  Its object
is to test the ability of pupil teachers-to reproduce
the drill they have received in the Normal Schooland to give them an opportunity of practising in their
profession, both as to methods of teaching and governing. The academic department has courses of study
corresponding to the courses in the Normal Department, called higher English and classical, and also a
course  preparatory  for  college, and  a  commercial
course.  The whole number of pupils taught during
the year is about 650.  The Hon. JEROME FULLER is
President of the  Board  of Trustees, and  DANIEL
HOLMES, Esq., Secretary.
The Faculty is composed of the following:
C. D, MILEAN, A. M., LL. B., Principal.
Wm. J. Milne, A. M., Vice-Principal and Prof. Ancient
Languages.




NORMAL SCHOOLS.                423
Francis B. Palmer, A. M., Principal Training School.
H. G. Burlingame, A. M., Teacher of Mathematics.
W. H. Lennon, A. M.,          "      Nat. Sciences.
C. B. Fairchild,              "      Com'l Dep't.
Robert J. Gordon,             "      Penmanship.
Mrs. W. C. Sylla, Preceptress.
Miss Helen Roby, Teacher of Mathematics.
Miss Clara Roby, Head Teacher Intermediate Dep't.
Miss Sarah M. Efner, Teacher Mathematics & History.
Miss C. M. Chrishwell,   "    English.
Mrs. Mary A. Cady,       "    Objects.
Mrs. M. J. Thompson, Head Teacher Primary Dep't.
Miss Elizabeth Richmond, Teacher of Reading and Vocal Music.
Miss Fanny Barnett, Teacher of Drawing.
Mrs..F C. Alling,          "    Instrumental Music.
CORTLAND NORMAL AND TRAINING SCHOOL.
Organized in 1868, under act of 1866.
The Normal School building is a spacious brick
edifice, three stories in height above the basement.
The first story contains two study rooms for pupils
in the lower grades of the Training School, and, connected with each, four recitation rooms, three anterooms, and two cloak rooms.  Upon this floor is also
a central hallway, with two large cloak rooms, a dining room, parlor, library, and office, together with rooms
for the accommodation of the steward and his family.
The second story contains the chapel or study room
for the Normal Department, the laboratory, two private rooms for teachers, two cloak rooms, six recita



424            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
tion rooms, and two halls leading from the chapel to
recitation rooms.  Upon the third floor are the gymnasium, well supplied with  apparatus for calisthenic
exercises, two bath rooms, and dormitory accommodations for lady boarders.
The grounds are commodiously located, near the
center of the village, and are ample for walks and
drives, pleasantly laid out, and remote from noise or
disturbance.
The cost of the building and grounds, defrayed by
the corporation of the village, was about $89,500; furniture, $6,500; and library and apparatus, $2,000; in
all, about $98,000.
The Board of Trustees consists of the Hon. HENRY
S. RANDALL, President; Hon. R. H. Duell, Secretary;
Charles C. Taylor, Treasurer; Trustees, Hon. Horatio
Ballard, Arnold Stafford, Henry Brewer, Norman Chamberlain, William ZNewkirk.
The school was opened March 3, 1869, under the
charge of the following Board of Instructors:
JAMES H. HOOSE, Prin'l Dep't Metaphysics & Didactics.
Norman F. Wright,        "   Ancient Languages.
Frank S. Capen,          "   Mathematics.
Thomas B. Stowell,       "   Natural Sciences.
Martha Roe, Superintendent Intermediate & Primary Departments, Teacher of Methods and Objects.
Helen E. M. Babcock, Modern Languages and History.
Miss M. Marsh, Vocal Music.
Mary Morton; Drawing.
Helen K. Hubbard, Principal Intermediate Dep't.
Margaret Hunter,      "      Primary        "
Miss M. F. Hendricks, Teacher of Reading, Elocution,
and Gymastics.
Miss Mary F. Hall, Critic in Primary Department.




NORMAL SCHOOLS.                   425
The object of the Normal School is to qualify young
men and women to serve as teachers in the Public
Schools of the State; and of the Training School, to
provide a practising school for the Normal students.
The latter comprises a Primary, Intermediate, and Academic Department.
The whole number of pupils in attendance during
the year was about 800.
POTSDAM NORMAL AND TRAINING SCHOOL.
Organized under act of 1867, on the 27th of April,
1869.
The attendance during the first year was as follows:
Normal School............................ 134
Training School, Academical Department....  89
"       "    Intermediate   ".... 125
- (   "    Primary.... 119
467
The school is located in the  central part of the
village, fronting the public park, which is free to the
students. The building is constructed of Potsdam sandstone, and consists of a central building, 45 by 113
feet.  From  this, at a distance of 22 feet from  the
front, on each side, there are two wings, 36 feet deep by
40 front, and from  the ends of each of these, at right
angles, two others, 36 feet front by 72 deep. The entire building  is 227 feet in length by 113 in depth,
comprising a basement and three stories above.  In
the basement, are the dining room, kitchen, laundry,
coal room, and cellar; on the first floor, the laboratory, Normal hall, Primary, and Intermediate Depart



426            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
ments, library, Principal's room, and reception room;
on the second, the Preceptress' and Matron's rooms,
the academic study rooms, and recitation rooms for
the Normal and Academic Departments; on the third,
dormitories, recitation rooms, and gymnasium. On this
floor is also the boarding hall, designed exclusively for
lady pupils, affording excellent accommodations for fifty
students, with bath rooms and a gymnasium.  Each
room is carpeted, and neatly furnished for the occupation of two ladies.
The Faculty is as follows:
MALCOLM McVICAR, Principal and Prof. of Mental and
Moral Philosophy and Didactics.
George H. Sweet, Vice-Principal and Prof. of English
Literature and Ancient Languages.
Henry L. Harter, Prof. of Mathematics.
E. D. Blakeslee, Prof. of Natural Sciences.
Robert H. Dutton, Teacher of Vocal Music.
Miss Annie Allen, Preceptress and Teacher of Rhetoric
and Composition.
Ellen J. Merritt, Teacher of Methods.
Lucy A. Leonard,    "      Mathematics.
Emma L. Qua,         "     English Grammar.
S. Julia Gilbert,    "     History, Geog. & Drawing.
Helen S. Wright,    "      Science of Government and
English Language.
Sybil E. Russell, Teacher of Reading, Elocution, and
Gymnastics.
Amelia Morey, Principal Intermediate Department.
Eleanor E. Jones, Principal Primary Department.
The course of instruction comprises an elementary
English, and an advanced English and Classical course.
The miscellaneous and reference libraries contain 1,164
volumes.




NORMAL SCHOOLS.                 427
The Board of Trustees consists of HENRY S. WATKINS, President; Charles O. Tappan, Secretary; Jesse
Reynolds, Treasurer; Aaron N. Dunning, George Ormiston, lion. Noble L. Elderkin, Eben Fisher, John J.
Gilbert, and Roswell Pettibone.
FREDONIA NORMAL AND TRAINING SCHOOL.
By an act of the Legislature passed February 16,
1869, the entire management of this school, originally
organized in February, 1868, was, in consequence of
some internal troubles, devolved upon the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, who appointed Dr. J.
W. Armstrong, of the Oswego Normal School, Principal, with a competent body of professors and teachers,
and the school was re-opened in September, 1869. The
whole number of pupils in attendance in the Normal,
Academic, Intermediate, and  Junior Departments is
about 600.
"The building," says the Superintendent, "is an
elegant and substantial brick  structure, conveniently
located, three stories high, and affording accommodation
for about 600 day scholars, and 125 boarders.  Including the site, furniture, and other required provisions,
it cost the village of Fredonia about $100,000."  Its
location is "in one of the pleasantest villages of the
State, in the midst of a cultivated  and appreciative
community."
The Wadsworth  Normal and Training  School, at
Geneseo, and the Buffalo Normal School, incorporated
respectively in 1867 and 1866, are in process of erection.




428            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
GENERAL SUMMARY.
EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL ORGANIZATION OF THE
SYSTEM.
THE  entire territory of the State, comprising exclusively of the waters of the great lakes, an area of
45,658 square miles, has been  subdivided into about
12,000  school districts, averaging  about four square
miles each, bringing ordinarily, in the rural districts,
the remotest inhabitants within  one mile from  the
centrally located school-house.
Common Schools in the several districts are free to
all residents of the districts between the ages of four
and twenty-one years, and residents of any district may
be admitted, with the consent of the trustees, to the
schools of any other district.
These  districts  are  originally  formed, or subsequently modified by the District Commissioners, with
the exception of those organized under special laws
in cities and villages.  The inhabitants of the several
districts who are legal voters, at their annual meetings,
on the second Tuesday of October in each year, elect
either one or three trustees, in their discretion, whose
term of office is one year in the former and three in the
latter case, a district clerk, a collector, and a librarian.
They are also authorized to vote such taxes as may be
necessary, for school apparatus, text-books, library, insurance, the payment of any balance that may be due the
teacher, after the application of the public money provided
by the State and other local funds, and for defraying the
costs and expenses of the trustees in the prosecution or
defense of suits brought by or against them.




ORGANIZATION OF THE SYSTEM.             429
The trustees are empowered to call district meetings, make out tax-lists and warrants, purchase sites
and build or hire  school-houses, insure  the  district
property, contract with, employ, and pay teachers, and
generally to  manage the  affairs of the district, and
take care of its property, with corporate powers for
this purpose.  Between the first and fifteenth days of
October in each year, they are required to make and
transmit a report to  the Commissioner, bearing date
on the first of October, setting forth the time during
which the school has been taught the preceding year
by duly qualified teachers, the sum  paid for the wages
of such teachers, and for text-books and school apparatus, the number of children of the requisite school
age residing in the district, the number taught during
the year, the amount paid for teachers' wages, over
and above the public State and local funds, the amount
of taxes levied on the district for purchasing sites,
building, hiring, purchasing, repairing, and  insuring
school-houses, for fuel, district libraries, or other legal
objects of expenditure, and such other information  as
the State Superintendent may, from  time to time, require.  The duties of the district clerk, collector, and
librarian may be inferred from their respective offices.
All teachers, in order to entitle themselves to any
portion of the public money, must hold a diploma from
one of the State Normal Schools, or a certificate of
qualification from the State Superintendent, the School
Commissioner of the  district, or some  other officer
specially authorized by law to grant such certificateo
The Town Clerk of each town is required to keep
in his office all books, maps, papers, and records concerning the several schools in his town; to keep a
record of the apportionment of school money among




430            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
the several districts, and to notify the trustees thereof; to receive and transmit to the Commissioner the
annual report of the trustees; to file and preserve
the boundaries of the  several districts; record the
accounts of the Supervisor, as hereinafter set forth;
and act with the Commissioner, when required by him,
in the formation and alteration of school-districts.
The school moneys, apportioned to the several counties by the State Superintendent, are paid over by the
State Treasurer to the order of the several County
Treasurers, and the share of each town by the County
Treasurer to the order of the Supervisor of the town,
by whom  it is disbursed, on the order of the trustees
of the several districts, to the teacher or other person
entitled to receive the same.  Bonds, with sufficient
sureties, for the faithful application of the public moneys coming into their respective hands, are required
of the State and County Treasurers and Supervisors
of towns.  The latter officers are also charged with
the  care  and  disposition  of all local town  school
funds.
One hundred  and  twelve  District Commissioners
are elected  once in every three years, by the legal
voters of their respective districts, the boundaries of
which were originally fixed by the Boards of Supervisors of the respective counties, under the authority
of the act of 1856.  They are authorized  and  empowered  to  visit and  examine  the  several schools
within their jurisdiction at least twice in each year,
during the summer and winter terms, and as much
oftener as practicable; to advise and counsel with the
trustees; to examine into and report the condition of
the school-houses; to recommend text-books and courses
of study; examine and license teachers, and  annul




ORGANIZATION OF THE SYSTEM.            431
their certificates for sufficient cause; to ascertain, and
if necessary correct, the description of district boundaries; to take and report testimony, whenever required
by the State Superintendent, on appeals to that officer;
and to apportion  among the several districts, within
their jurisdiction, the share of public money belonging
to them  respectively.  In the several cities and large
villages of the State, these various duties are devolved,
under special laws, upon the respective Boards of Education, City Superintendents, and other local officers.
At the head of the whole system, controlling, regulating, and giving life and efficiency to all its parts,
is the STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION,
elected by joint ballot of the Senate and Assembly,
for the term  of three years.  By virtue of his office,
he has the general supervision of the several schools
of the State, and the advisory control of their management, discipline, and course of instruction, and the
final determination, on appeal, of all controversies arising
under their local administration. He apportions and distributes the public money, examines its supplementary
apportionment among the several districts by the Commissioners, and supervises its application, through the
several officers charged with its disbursement, to its
legitimate  purposes; corresponds with, counsels, and
advises the inhabitants, trustees, and other officers of
the several districts, and establishes rules and regulations for the management of the district libraries. He
is charged with  the  general control, visitation, and
management of  Teachers' Institutes  in  the  several
counties; the employment of teachers and lecturers
therein, and the payment of the expenses incurred by
the District Commissioners in  conducting their exercises; with the appointment of State pupils in the




432           COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
institutions for the instruction of the deaf, dumb, and
blind, upon the certificates of the proper local officers;
with the apportionment and selection of pupils of the
several State Normal Schools, and their general supervision, direction and management; with the charge and
control of the several schools for the instruction of
Indian children within the State; with the compilation
of full abstracts of the reports of the Trustees and
Commissioners of the several school districts; and
with the preparation of an annual report to the Legislature of the condition of the several schools and
institutions subject to his supervision, and the recommendation of such measures as, in his judgment, will
contribute to their welfare and efficiency.  He is, ex
officio, chairman of the Executive Committee of the
State Normal School at Albany, a Regent of the State
University, and chairman of the committee of that
body on teachers' classes in the academies of the
State, a member of the Board of Trustees of the
State Idiot Asylum  at Syracuse, the People's College
at Havana, and the Cornell University at Ithaca.
FUNDS FOR THE SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM AND THE MANNER OF THEIR APPORTIONMENT.
The several sources from which the Common Schools
of the State are supported are the following:
1. The income of the COMMON SCHOOL FUND.  The
productive capital of this fund, consisting of the proceeds
of the sale of public lands, State loans, State and bank
stocks, and money in the State Treasury, amounts at
the present time to about $3,000,000, yielding an annual
revenue of above $175,000, of which, however, $155,000
only is annually apportioned among the several school
districts of the State.




ORGANIZATION OF THE SYSTEM.                 433
2. The  income  of the  United  States Deposit Fund,
amounting to $165,000, annually.
3. The general STATE TAX, which, being fixed by law
at one and a quarter mills upon each dollar of the valuation of real and personal property in the State, yields
at  the  present  time  somewhat  over  $2,000,000  per
annum.
4. The income of local funds, chiefly the the  proceeds of sales of what is known as "Gospel and School
lots," set apart on the first establishment of the Common School System  for the support of Schools, amounting to about $20,500, annually.
5. District, Village and City Taxation, voluntarily  incurred in the purchase of sites, the building, purchasing,
hiring,  furnishing,  repairing  and  insuring  of  schoolhouses, and  the  purchase  of school apparatus, textbooks, etc.
These various items may be stated as follows:
From the interest of the Common School Fund......... $155,000
From the income of the United States Deposit Fund....  165,000
From the avails of Local Funds......................   20,500
From the avails of the State Tax...................... 2,100,000
Total.......................................  $2,440,500
The avails of local taxation must, of course, counterbalance the expenditures calling for their appropriation,
and need not be included in this statement.  They will
average generally not far from $6,500,000.
In the annual apportionment of these funds set apart
for the  support of Common  Schools, the State Superintendent, after deducting from the income of the United
States  deposit  fund,  the  amount necessary  to  pay
the salaries of the several School Commissioners, the
sum of five hundred dollars for each assembly district in
28




434:            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
every city, having a local Superintendent or other similar officer, under special laws, the library money appropriated by the Legislature, an equitable sum for the
support of Indian schools, and the sum of $2,000 for contingencies, divides the remainder into two parts, equal
to one-third and two-thirds of the amount, respectively.
The one-third is apportioned, in accordance with the law,
among the several school districts, according to the
number of qualified teachers employed in each for a
period not less than twenty eight weeks during the
preceding year, one share being awarded to each district,
for each qualified teacher so employed by them for that
length of time in each year; and the remaining twothirds, together with the library money, among the several counties, according to their population (excluding
Indians), as shown by the last State or National census;
separate apportionments being made to cities having
special school acts.  This apportionment, when conpleted, the Superintendent certifies to the several County
Clerks, County Treasurers, District Commissioners and
City Chamberlains or Treasurers; the amount so apportioned to each county or city, being payable on the order
of such county or city Treasurer, on the first day of February, thereafter.
On the receipt of such certificate, the several District
Commissioners of each county meet and proceed to apportion the money among the several districts of the
county as follows: setting apart to each district its
quota according to the number of qualified teachers employed during the preceding year, as above stated, and
any sum assigned to such district as an equitable allowance, by the State Superintendent, and deducting these
amounts from the aggregate sum apportioned for teachers' wages; they divide the remainder into two equal




ORGANIZATION  OF THE  SYSTEM.                       435
parts, one of which is apportioned  to  the districts in proportion  to  the  number  of  children, between  the  ages
of four and twenty-one residing in them, and the other
according to the average daily attendance of resident pupils.
The library money is then apportioned according to the
number of resident children, between  four and  twentyone  years  of  age.   A   copy  of  this  apportionment  is
transmitted  to  the  County Treasurer and  State  Super-r
intendent, respectively, and the Supervisor of each town
officially informed  of the aggregate  amount of teachers,
wages and  library  money  apportioned  to  his town, and
of the share of each, respectively, payable to the several
districts.
GENERAL RESULTS.
The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  statistical  and
financial reports of the Common Schools of the State for
the year 1870:
RECEIPTS.
Cities.     Rural Districts.  Total.
Amount on hand Oct. 1, 1869... $1,133,804 48   $217,542 37  $1,351,346 85
Public money received..........  848,738 71  1,609,668 26   2,458,406 97
Proceeds of local funds........     717 54      21,832 91      22,550 45
Raised by local taxation........ 3,782,861 18  2,799,788 81   6,582,649 99
Appropriation for teachers' board........    294,291 05    294,291 05
From allother sources.........    58,121 76    157,500 08    215,621 84
Totals.................. $5,824,243 67 $5,100,623 48 $10,924,867 15




436                    COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
EXPENDITURES.
Cities.      Rural Districts.  Total.
For teachers' wages............. $3,036,439 98 $3,473,724 34 $6,510,164 32
For libraries...................    14,067 58          16,849 47      30,917 05
For school apparatus.........  155,275 16              23,781 77    179,056 93
For colored schools............    60,790 75            6,791 81      67,582 56
For school-houses, sites, repairs,
and furniture............... 1,079,160 61    903,386 68  1,982,547 29
All other incidental expenses...   729,135 23    435,007 44  1,164,142 67
forfeitures in Supervisors' hands.........          365 77         365 77
Amount on hand Oct. 1, 1870....  749,374 36            240,716 20    990,090 56
Totals............. $5,824,243 67 $5,100,623 48 $10,924,867 15
Deducting  the  amounts remaining  on  hand, the
actual expense of maintaining the schools of the State,
during  the  year  ending   October  1, 1870, was  as  follows:
In the several cities.......................  $5,074,869 31
In the towns and rural districts.................     4,859,907 28
Total.................................... $9,934,776   59
Showing an increase of about $48,000 over the expenditure of the preceding year.
In addition to the expenditures above enumerated for
the support of Common Schools exclusively, the following, pertaining more especially to the higher institutions,
departments, and agencies for the promotion  of the
system of Public Instruction, should be added:
State appropriation for support of Academies................ $44,646 79'"        "       for teachers' classes in Academies...........  15,345 00
For the support of Teachers' Institutes........................  16,171 10
t"      "      Normal Schools.......................... 128,723 59'"      "      Cornell University.........................  25,000 00
"       "      Indian schools.............................   6,837 98
For expenses of the Department of Public Instruction.........   19,127 09
i"      "      Regents of the University.....................   6,349 72
"       "      blank forms and registers for schools...........  13,000 00
$275,201 27




ORGANIZATION OF THE SYSTEM.                    437
Which, added to the total above given........................ 9934,776 59
Makes the entire amount expended during the year 1870, for
the support of our educational system................ $10,209,977 86
Or an increase, over the aggregate expenditure of the preceding year, of
over $100,000.
The estimated value of the sites and school-houses
owned by the several districts was as follows:
In the cities................................$11,981,302  00
In  the rural districts..........................   8,467,110  00
Total.............................. $20,448,412 00
The whole  number  of duly  qualified  teachers  employed  during  an  average  period of 35 weeks in  the
year, was  28,239, of whom   21,688  were  females, and
6,551 males.   The  number employed  and  on  duty  at
the same time, during  a period  of 28 weeks (the legal
school term, entitling the districts to their proportionate
share of the public money), or upward, was 17,459, with
an  average annual salary, in the cities, of $680.36, and
in the country districts, of $267.33.
The whole number of children between  the ages of
5 and 21 residing in  the several districts of the State,
on  the  30th  of  September,  1870,  was  reported  at
1,488,440, of whom  623,201 were residing in the cities,
and 865,239 in  the rural districts.   The whole number
attending  the  public  schools, for a longer  or shorter
period, during the year, was 1,029,852, of whom 409,477
resided in the cities, and 620,375 in  the rural districts.
The average attendance  during  the period  the schools
were  kept open  was  485,840;  in  the  cities, 192,623.
in the rural districts, 293,217.
The number reported as in attendance upon  private
schools,  of  every   description,  was  127,261;  cities,
103,362; country, 23,899.




438             COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
The whole number of volumes in  the several district libraries of the State had diminished to 986,697,
of which 130,980 were in the city, and 855,717 in the
country districts. Total valuation, $569,394.
The whole number of school-houses in  the State
was 11,700, of which 11,333 were in the rural districts,
and 367 in the cities.  In  the former, 488 were of
stone, 858 of brick, 9,860 of framed wood, and 127 of
logs; in the latter, 14 of stone, 308 brick, and 45 of
wood.
The aggregate number of visitations and inspections
made by the  several District Commissioners, in  the
rural districts, during the year, was 16,680.
With  respect to  the existing organization  of the
Common School system, there seems to  me one only
radical defect, marring its symmetry, and seriously affecting its efficiency.  The country districts  of the
State, comprising by far its largest portion, consist of
contiguous territory, averaging an area of about four
miles square, with  generally  a school population of
about one hundred children, of all ages from  four to
twenty-one, taught for perhaps eight months of the
year, in a single room  of a cheaply constructed building.  A  female teacher, of average abilities and restricted scholarship, is usually engaged for the summer
months, at a low rate, and a male teacher, of somewhat superior acquirements and skill, for the winter
term.  In the great majority of these districts, the
teachers are changed every year, and not unfrequently
the entire series of class-books and the entire course
of instruction with them.  Under these circumstances,
it is obvious that comparatively little substantial progress can be made in the work of education.  A  systematic  gradation  of classes  and  studies  is nearly




ORGANIZATION OF THE SYSTEM.             439
impossible, and a very large portion  of the work of
one year is gone over, with'different text-books and
different methods of instruction and classification, during each succeeding year. And yet these are the only
facilities which  are  available  to  nine-tenths  of tie
children of the district for a Common School education-the only education, in all probability, which they
are destined to receive-certainly the only education
provided by the State! A  re-organization of the system, in  this important respect, seems imperatively
to be called for.  The million and a half of dollars
expended annually by the State for the education of
at least half a million of this class of children might
surely be made to realize more substantial advantages
than these! And this might easily be accomplished by
adopting  for these  country  districts  the  system  of
graded  schools, which gives such  acknowledged efficiency to the city and village schools of the  State.
Let each of the present District Schools be fitted up
and properly organized and graded as a Primary and
Intermediate School, with a course of study ranging
from  the simple elementary branches, to  and including those now ordinarily assigned to the lower classes
of the  city  and village  Grammar Departments, and
furnishing all requisite facilities for the instruction of
children of twelve years of age, and under.  Then let
two or more Grammar Schools, comprehending all the
higher branches of study below those of the advanced
classes of the Academy or High School, be provided
in convenient locations in each town, at about equal
distance from  the District Schools, to which those in
the several District or Primary Schools, who have completed the prescribed course of instruction, may graduate, and from  whence they may pass in turn to the




l440           COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEI.
nearest Academical or High School. The several towns
in the State rarely extend over an area of more than
twenty square miles, and two Grammar Schools only in
each, eligibly located, would be accessible, without great
difficulty, to  the more advanced  pupils.  In  towns
having a large population, three or four such schools
could easily be sustained, and their number might in
all cases be adjusted to the circumstances and educational wants of the town. The increased expense of such
an arrangement would bear an inconsiderable proportion
to the advantages and benefits certain to be derived
from it.  Under the existing system, the public funds
are, to  a very  great extent, comparatively wasted;
undue preference is given, in furnishing the means of
a thorough and complete course of instruction, to the
inhabitants of cities and villages; and hundreds of
thousands of children living in remote and secluded
districts are virtually deprived of privileges enjoyed by
the more favored residents of towns, and which it is
the duty of the State equally to dispense to them.
Such is a condensed view of our present system of
COMMON SCHOOL EDUCATION-a system  elaborated and
matured by the exertions of the highest minds among
us, during a period of sixty years-a system  comprehending the best and dearest interests, present and
prospective, of an enlightened and free people-full of
promise for the future, and containing within itself the
germs of individual, social, and national prosperity-a
system identified with the highest hopes and interests
of all classes of the community, and from which are
destined to flow those streams of intelligence and of
public and private virtue which alone can enable us
worthily to fulfil the noble destinies involved in our
free institutions.




ORGANIZATION OF THE SYSTEM.           441
But in this country, no system, however perfectno enactments, however enlightened —and no authority
however venerable, can attain to the full accomplishment of their object, however praiseworthy and laudable, without the hearty and efficient co-operation of
public sentiment.  The repeated and solemn recognition, by the representatives of the people, of the great
interests of popular education and public instruction,
and the nearly unanimous adoption, by the  people
themselves, of a system commended to the public favor
as well by practical experience as by the concurring
testimony of the most enlightened minds of our own
and other countries, afford the most conclusive evidence
not only of the importance which the great mass of
our fellow-citizens attach to the promotion of sound
intellectual and moral instruction, but of their fixed
determination to place our Common Schools, where this
instruction is chiefly dispensed to' the children of the
State, upon a footing which shall enable them  most
effectually to accomplish the great objects of their institution.
It is upon the extent and permanency of this feeling that the true friends of education most confidently
rely, and this spirit, to which they appeal in looking
forward to the just appreciation and judicious improvement of those means of moral and mental enlightenment which the beneficent policy of the  State  has
placed at the disposal of its citizens.  The renovation
of our Common Schools, distributed as they are over
every section of our entire territory, their elevation
and expansion to meet the constantly increasing requirements of science and mental advancement, and
their capability of laying broad and deep the foundations of character and usefulness, must depend upon




442             COMMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
the intelligent and fostering culture which they shall
receive at the hands  of those  to whose  immediate
charge they are committed.  There  is no institution
within the range of civilization upon which so much,
for good  or for evil, depends-upon  which hang so
many  and such important issues to  the future wellbeing of individuals and communities, as the COMMON
DISTRICT SCHOOL. It is through that alembic that the
lessons of the nursery and the family fireside, the earliest and most enduring instructions in pure morality,
and  the  long-remembered  precepts and examples  of
the social circle are distilled, and from it those lessons
are destined to assume that tinge and hue which are
permanently to be incorporated into the character and
the life.  Is it too much then to ask or to expect of
parents, that, laying  aside  all minor considerations,
abandoning  all controversies  and  dissensions  among
themselves, in reference to local, partisan, and purely
selfish objects-or, at the least, postponing them  until
the interests of their children are placed beyond the
influence of these irritating topics-they will consecrate their undivided energies to the advancement and
improvement of this beneficent institution?  Resting,
as it does, upon their support, indebted to them for all
its means of usefulness, and dependent for its continued existence upon their discriminating favor and
efficient sanction, the practical superiority of the existing system  of public instruction; its comprehensiveness
and simplicity; its abundant and ample resources, and
its adaptation to the educational wants of every class
of the community, will prove of little avail without the
invigorating influences of that public sentiment which
must emanate from  the great mass of the reflecting
and enlightened  people  of the  State. The CoM.IoN




ORGANIZATION OF THE SYSTEM.           443
SCHOOL must become the central interest of the citizen
and the parent, the clergyman, the lawyer, the physician, the merchant, the manufacturer, the farmer, and
the laborer. Each and all must realize that there, under
more or less favoring auspices, as they themselves shall
determine,  developments are in  progress which are
destined, at no distant day, to  exert a controlling
influence over the institutions, habits, modes of thought,
and action of society in all its complicated relations;
and that the primary  responsibility for the results
which may thus be worked out, for weal or for woe,
RESTS WITH THEM! By the removal of every obstacle
to the progressive and harmonious action of the system
of popular education, so carefully organized and amply
endowed by the State; by a constant, methodical and
intelligent co-operation with its constituted agents, in
the elevation and advancement of that system in all
its parts; and especially by an infusion into its entire
course of discipline and instruction, of that high moral
and  Christian  culture  which  can  alone adequately
realize the idea of a sound education, results of inconceivable magnitude and importance to. individual, social
and moral well being may confidently be anticipated.
These results demand and will amply repay' the consecration of the highest intellectual and moral energies,
the most comprehensive  benevolence, and  the best
affections of our common humanity!




CONCLUDING CHAPTER.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES.-PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION.
Coleridge's Views.-Church and State.-Education Defined.-Physical,
Intellectual, Moral, and Religious Education.
THE  great system of Common School education and
public instruction, the annals of which we have
been thus  far engaged  in  reviewing, rests for its
foundation upon the principle that it is not only the
inalienable right but the highest duty of the State,
in the exercise of the powers conferred upon it by the
popular will, to make ample and suitable provision for
the education of all its future citizens. Governments
were primarily instituted, undoubtedly, for the protection and defence of the lives, liberty and property
of the governed; in return for which, obedience to the
laws was to be rendered and order mantatained. But the
gradual advancement of civilization superadded to these
primary and indispensable requisites, that most important of all, not only as a necessary means for their
attainment, but as itself an end, for which only, governments themselves were most precious and valuable
-the culture and discipline of the human mind. And
this leads us to  the  important  inquiry-important
especially in reference to the present condition and
future expansion of our systems of education-what are
the essential constituents of that education which the
State is bound to provide for its successive generations
of citizens? and  in  what manner may  they  most
effectually be provided?
That profound thinker, SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE,




GENERAL PRINCIPLES.                        445
in his admirable discourse on  " Church and State," has
thrown  a  flood  of light on  the  relations which  these
two institutions were originally designed, in  the  structure  of  the  British  Constitution, to  occupy  towards
each  other.  Starting  from  the proposition that "civilization itself is but a mixed good, if not far more, a
corrupting  influence-the  hectic  of  disease,  not  the
bloom  of health-and  a nation  so  distinguished  more
fitly  to  be called  a varnished  than  a  polished  people,
where this civilization  is  not grounded  in  cultivation,
in the harmonious development of those  qualities and
faculties   that  characterize  our  humanity, "-he  thus
sketches the origin  of what he terms "the nationality,"
or third  estate, as  contradistinguished  from   the first,
or great landholders, by  whom   the permanency  of the
nation was provided for, and the second, or mercantile,
manufacturing and laboring  class, representing the elements of progressiveness:
"The nationality, therefore, was reserved for the support and maintenance of a permanent class or order with the following duties: A certain
smaller number were to remain at the fountain heads of the humanities in
cultivating and enlarging the knowledge already possessed, and in watching over the interests of physical and moral science, being likewise the
instructors of such as constitute, or were to constitute, the remaining more
numerous classes of the order. The members of this latter and more numerous body were to be distributed throughout the country, so as not to leave
even the smallest and most integral part or division without a resident
guide, guardian and instructor: the objects and final intention of the whole
order being these-to preserve the stores and guard the treasures of past
civilization, and thus to bind the present with the past: to perfect and
add to the same, and thus to connect the present with the future; but
especially to diffuse through the whole community, and to every native
entitled to its laws and rights that quantity and quality of knowledge which
was indispensable, both for the understanding of those rights and for the
performance of the duties correspondent: finally, to secure for the nation,
if not a superiority over the neighboring States, yet an equality at least in
that character of general civilization which equally with, or rather more tlan
fleets, armies and revenue, forms the ground of its offensive and defensive
power. The object of the two former estates of the realm, which conjointly




446                  COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
form the State, was to reconcile the interests of permanence with that of
progression-law  with liberty. The object of the National Church, the
third remaining estate, was to secure and improve that civilization without
which the nation could be neither permanent nor progressive.
"That in all ages, individuals who have directed their meditations and
their studies to the noble character of our nature, to the cultivation of those
powers and instincts which constitute the man-at least separate him from
the animal, and distinguish the nobler from  the animal part of his own
being-will be led, by the supernatural in themselves, to the contemplation
of a Power which is likewise supernatural: that science, and especially moral
science, will lead to religion, and remain blended with it-this, I say, will,
in all ages, be the course of things. *  *  *  *  The clerisy of the nation,
or national church, in its primary acceptation and original intention, comprehended the learned of all donominations-the sages and professors of the
law and jurisprudence, of medicine and physiology, of music, of military
and civil architecture, of the physical and mathematical sciences-in short
all the so-called liberal arts and sciences, the possession and application of
which constitute the civilization of a country, as well as the theological.
The last was, indeed, placed at the head of all: and of good right did it
claim the precedency. But why?  Because under the name of theology or
divinity were contained the interpretation of languages, the conservation
and tradition of past events, the momentous epochs and revolutions of the
race and nation, the continuation of the records, logic, ethics, and the determination of ethical science in application to the rights and duties of men in
all their various relations, social'and civil; and lastly, the ground knowledge
-the prima scientia, as it was named-philosophy, or the doctrine and discipline of ideas.
" Theology formed only a part of the objects, the theologians formed only
a portion of the clerks or clergy of the national church. The theological
order had precedency, indeed, and deservedly; but not because its members
were priests. * * The theologians took the lead, because the science of theology was the root and the trunk of the knowledge that civilized man, because
it gave unity and the circulating sap of life to all other sciences, by virtue of
which alone they could be contemplated as forming collectively, the living
tree of knowledge. It had the precedency, because under the name theology were comprised all the main aids, instruments and materials of national
education, the nisusformnativus of the body politic, the shaping and informing spirit, which educing or eliciting the latent man, in all the natives of the
soil, trains them up to be citizens of the countiy, free subjects of the realm.
And lastly, because to divinity belong those fundamental truths which are
the common ground-work of our civil and our religious duties, not less indispensable to a right view of our temporal concerns, than to a rational faith
respecting our immortal well being. NOT WITHOUT CELESTIAL OBSERVATIONS
CAN EVEN TERRESTRIAL CHARTS BE ACCURATELY CONSTRUCTED."*
*Coleridge's works (Harper's Ed.), vol. vi, pp. 51-55.




GENERAL PRINCIPLES.                44T
I. Education, in its most universal acceptation, is
understood to consist in the development, cultivation,
expansion and discipline of the human mind, in all
its faculties, to  the utmost extent compatible with
physical health and well-being, with the intellectual,
moral, and religious capacity, and with the individual
and social requirements, present and prospective, of
those subjected to its processes. First in the order of
time, and commensurate with the entire course, as the
indispensable condition of' all mental culture, the laws
of health must be observed and taught-so thoroughly,
if possible, as to preclude the necessity, at any future
period, of painfully and laboriously, if not fruitlessly,
exploring the profound mysteries of the laws of disease,
The intellectual powers must then be enabled to comprehend and gradually to master the various discoveries of science, the principles, evolutions, and machinery
of art, the lessons of history, and the great works of
those  master-spirits of literature, whose imagination
and surpassing genius have enrolled their names among
the list of those whom  the latest posterity  "will not
willingly let die."  Simultaneously with this process, the
moral and spiritual faculties of the young immortalthe highest gift of God-must be assiduously cultivated.
The great moral lessons of Christianity-unadulterated
by sectarian teaching or denominational tenets, which
may safely be left to  the lessons of home and the
church-should  be communicated  in  all their purity,
beauty, and sublimity; intimately associated with the
happiest hours of youthful enjoyment-the  happiest
and most cherished memories of the glad spring time
of life.
II. Regarding these, then, as the essential elements
of education, I proceed to submit some remarks-not




448            CO:0TION SCHOOL SYSTEM.
on the specific manner in which they may be communicated-for that must necessarily be infinitely diversified, and dependent to an incalculable extent upon
individual faculty, temperament, condition and circumstances, as well of teachers as of pupils-but upon
such general principles and methods, as experience,
observation, study  and  much  reflection  have  suggested.
1. There is great reason to'believe that the fundamental laws of health are too generally neglected in
our institutions for public instruction.  The location
and structure of school buildings-their surroundingstheir facilities for ventilation and heating-their playgrounds and gymnastic apparatus-their out-buildingsand the distribution of the hours of study and of
play-all require and deserve the most careful attention and intelligent supervision. Especial regard should
be given to the frequent alternation of study and recreation-and to the thorough ventilation and equable
temperature of the class-rooms.  At least once in each
hour these rooms should be vacated for at least five
or ten minutes, and the pupils permitted to change
their posture and occupation; and after the lapse of
two hours, half or three-quarters of an hour given to
recreation and exercise.  Not more than five hours of
instruction should be given in any one day to even
the older and more advanced pupils-nor more than
three to the younger.  The instruction given to the
latter should be chiefly oral and objective. The knowledge  of words and  of things, easily accessible  or
through well-executed drawings, should take precedence
of books.
Nothing short of a miracle can present us with a
sound mind unaccompanied by a sound body. We may




GENERAL PRINCIPLES.              449
develop to a preternatural activity the intellectual faculties of our children, and by a species of hot-house discipline be able to exhibit to the wondering gaze of our
friends a youthful prodigy of genius and talent.  But
the bitter experience of many an agonized and bereaved
parent has demonstrated that triumphs like these are
brief and far too dearly bought. Exhausted nature soon
asserts its supremacy and vindicates its violated laws.
The overtasked brain gives way before the unnatural
supply of nervous energy which has been forced to it, and
a premature grave claims the victim  of a misdirected
education. Instead of encouraging, it is the part of true
wisdom  studiously to repress the undue manifestations
of intellectual power, at an age when the physical organs
have not attained that consistency, strength, durability
and harmony which can alone fit them for co-operating
with the mind in its onward and upward progress.
Sound education, as we have already seen, consists
in a, judicious, enlightened and systematic development
of the entire constitution of our nature, physical, intellectual, moral and religions.  It object is to fit us for
the discharge of all the duties incumbent upon us as
social, rational and accountable beings, for the enjoyment of happiness, and for the cultivation and advancement of all our faculties. It is therefore essentially requisite than an accurate knowledge of the human mind
in all its relations, connections and Idependences, so far
as such knowledge is within our reach be attained.
We are not called upon to speculate as to the abstract
nature and source of mind, its materiality or immateriality, for these are questions incapable of solution by
any powers conferred upon or known to us; nor are
they in any manner essential to the right exercise of
those which are conferred. So far as the present life is
29




450            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
concerned, the Creator, in his wisdom, has seen fit indissolubly to connect the manifestations and operations
of the mind with its material physical organs; and to
make the former dependent for its vigor, strength and
fitness to perform its various functions, upon the sound
condition of the latter. To become acquainted with the
laws by which the economy of our nature is adapted to
the external circumstances which surround us, by virtue
of which, health and consequent enjoyment result from
an observance of the conditions affixed to our organic
constitutions; and disease, debility, and consequent misery, from  a violation or neglect of those conditions,
we must at an early period familiarize ourselves with
the instructive lessons of PHYSIOLOGY as expounded and
explained, theoretically and practically, by those who
possess the requisite capacity and experience in this important branch of knowledge. We may not, it is true,
by the most strict conformity to the laws thus deduced,
be able wholly to avert the ravages of disease, or to
obtain an entire exemption from the physical ills incident
to humanity. WVere we even at liberty to conceive of
such an advancement in science and knowledge, at any
future period of the race, as should enable us to cope
with pestilence in its desolating influences, or with the
elements in their wildest fury or most eccentric evolutions, or to grapple with and overcome those innumerable agents of disease which now steal upon us when
least expected and least prepared, and against which no
known human skill or prescience avails; that period is,
undoubtedly, far remote. There are disturbing influences
in the air we breathe, in the earth upon which we tread,
in all the elements, in short, which surround us; there
are disturbing influences in the very blood which courses
through our veins, and in the constitution, itself; of our




GENERAL PRINCIPLES.               451
physical and mental organs, which no human power
known to us, can wholly neutralize or command.  But
it is much, very much, to know and to understand the
fixed laws impressed upon our nature by the hand of
Omnipotent wisdom and benevolence; to be able, so far
as in us lies, to guard against their infringement, to carry
out their design, and thus secure a comparative exemption from those debilitating influences which make up
so great a portion of the cup of human wretchedness.
It is much to understand and appreciate the intimate
connection between bodily health and mental efficiency;
a connection too long and too systematically ignored and
disregarded. It is much to be able to dissipate the deplorable ignorance which has consigned to premature
graves so many highly gifted minds, upon whom  the
fondest hopes of the domestic and social circle hung,
and around whom clustered the most sanguine expectations for future usefulness, happiness and fame. It is
much to substitute for the destructive system of precocious mental culture with which we have so generally
heretofore been met at the very portals of knowledge
and education, the pleasing and unconstrained exercise
of those muscular functions, whose activity, in the spring
time of life, it has been found impossible wholly to repress, and the gratification of that insatiable thirst for
instruction and information in the countless phenomena
of nature, which is so apparent in the youthful mind.
No system  of education can be regarded as perfect
which is not based on an enlightened acquaintance with
the fundamental principles of physiology; and no philanthropist, no teacher, no parent, who desires to ameliorate and elevate the physical as well as the mental
and moral condition of those whom he has in charge,
and in whose welfare he is interested, will withhold his




452            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
influence and exertions in the dissemination of its instructive lessons, wherever the great work of education
is in progress. Ignorance of those elementary principles
which regulate and control the physical well-being of
our common nature, is no longer excusable in those who
undertake the task of instruction; and especially is it
the duty and the interest of parents to familiarize themselves with a subject, a correct knowledge of which is
of such surpassing importance to the happiness and
welfare of those to whom, as they have given existence,
so they are bound to render that existence, so far as
rests with them, a source of enjoyment, advancement
and mental purity.
2. Intellectual education may be defined as the cultivation of the science of sound logical thinking, or
reasoning, based upon accurate and thorough observation of all the facts and circumstances pertaining to
the subject matter of investigation, whatever that may be
-mathematical, physical, moral, religious, metaphysical,
historical, or ethical.  Its object is the  ascertainment
of truth-truth of facts, whether in the world of matter
or of mind-truth of inferences, conclusions, and principles, from  those facts-unbiased by appearances, prejudices, partiality or preconception.  "The main thing
which we ought to teach our youth," says John Ruskin,
"is to  see something-all that the eyes which  God
hath given them  are capable of seeing.  The sum  of
what we do teach them, is to say something. As far
as I have experience of instruction, no man ever dreams
of teaching a boy to get to the root of a matter; to
think it out; to get quit of passion  or desire, in the
process of thinking; or to fear no  face of man in
plainly asserting  the ascertained result." *  This can
* Modern Painters, vol. iv, p. 390, Appendix




GENERAL PRINCIPLES.                453
only  be accomplished in conjunction with the purest
and most inflexible morality, honesty of heart, sincerity
of aim, and ambition for the highest and noblest excellence.  It can  take root and flourish  in no other
soil.  The ideas and conceptions of duty-those ideas
and conceptions which form  the basis of Christian morality-must first be developed and infused as a vital
element of life and character. Without this, the fairest
and most promising flowers of intellect will blossom
but to fade-its richest soil will be overgrown with
deadly tares-and all its manifestations, however apparently brilliant and hopeful, will prove delusive and
unreal in the presence of those severe and uncompromising tests to which they must be subjected in the
pursuit of truth. On this indispensable foundation the
great aim  of the  teacher, in the cultivation of the
reasoning and reflecting faculties, should be to secure
a perfect understanding, and an  accurate conception
of the ideas unfolded-a habit of close discrimination,
and clear deduction of facts and principles-and a rigid
analysis of whatever is presented to the mind for its
adoption or rejection. Innumerable sources of error will
manifest themselves at every stage of this process; but
it is often only by the examination and refutation of
every possible form of error, that the mind can arrive at
fundamental principles of truth; and the mental discipline
which such an exercise, properly conducted, confers, is
beyond all value.
In  connection with  these  principles of life  and
methods of clear, logical, and fearless reasoning, there
are few requisites of a sound mental and moral culture
more important and desirable than that comprehensiveness which takes in not only all the relations which
appertain to any given subject of study or thought,




454            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
but its connection with and dependence upon other
departments of knowledge and  action. We frequently
hear of men  of "one idea;"  and nothing is more
common, in our intercourse with the world, and with
the great minds of the past, than to observe the disproportionate importance which many seem to attach to
the peculiar object of their labors and lives.  The
philosopher, the patriot, the statesman, the divine, the
soldier, agriculturist, mechanic, discoverer or inventor
-each strives to monopolize the attention and regards
of the race for the subjects of his investigation and
special research-while in reality, "all are but parts of
one stupendous whole" —neither, of themselves, constituting the key stone of the arch which supports the
stately structure of civilization-but all, in their combined action, each in its separate province, carrying forward, with  an irresistible  and  constantly  increasing
impetus, the designs of creative beneficence and Omnipotent Wisdom. It is not to be denied that results of
surpassing importance to the highest interests of humanity and to the progress of science, have been effected and
are still being effected through the efforts of "men of
one idea."  We may be pointed to many of the great
reformers in religion, in morals, in science, in legislation,
in political and social economy, and in numerous other
fields of intellectual labor, for striking and pertinent illustrations of this fact. These instances, however, may be
regarded as constituting the exceptions rather than the
rules of human conduct-as splendid interpositions of a
necessary concentration of mental energy upon one central
point for the accomplishment of a specific end which could
in no other way be secured. Whenever the designs of
Providence are destined or required to be furthered
by the presence of those great and shining lights in




GENERAL PRINCIPLES.                455
the intellectual and moral world, whose beams are to
irradiate the long succession of future ages, they may
well deserve such an  undivided devotion of thought
and effort; but for the ordinary purposes, objects, aims,
and ends of life, and even for the most assured success in the extraordinary and absorbing consecrations
of human existence, a comprehensive mental discipline
will be found the best preparative for practical and
extended usefulness.
With respect to the much-vexed religious question
which has so  strongly agitated the public mind on
three different occasions in the history of the system,
and from  the  effects of which  the  community has
scarcely recovered even yet, a few  plain  statements
may, perhaps, suffice to place it on a proper footing,
and to disentangle it from  some of the  sophistries
with which it has been surrounded.
And, first, it must be borne in view  that the religious or spiritual element forms  a portion  and a
most important portion of the faculties of the universal
human mind. With very rare exceptions, every human
being in  every civilized  community  recognizes  the
existence of a Supreme Being, the Creator and Governor of the universe, whom, under some form  he
worships and adores. Throughout the most enlightened
countries of Europe and America that Being is the
God of the Bible-the God of Christianity. By far
the larger portion of the inhabitants of these  great
continents profess and believe the Christian religion.
Independently, even, of its revelations, there is implanted deep in the human mind, a hope, a desire,
a longing for immortality-aspirations for a future existence  "far in the unapparent"-where the inequalities of this fleeting life shall be rectified-where pain




456            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
and  sorrow, sickness and  death shall be no  more
known, and where the faculties and powers which here
have been denied their legitimate expansion shall find
full realization, free from all the clogs of matter and
sense. Can any system  of education venture to ignore
these high faculties of the human mind?
In the BIBLE the Christian believer finds the full
and assured realization of these his highest hopes"life and immortality brought to light."  For a period
of more than  eighteen  centuries that religion  has
numbered its disciples by millions and tens of millions of enlightened worshippers, in each  succeeding
age; and now past the full meridian of the nineteenth
century, they constitute in  our own great Republic
nearly the entire population of half the Western Continent. Divided as they are into two great, and numerous  smaller  sects —all concur  in  recognizing  the
Divine Authority of the BIBLE-differing only in its
interpretation, and in the translation of a few  sentences, paragraphs and words, the precise meaning of
which cannot as yet be ascertained to the common
satisfaction of all. The vast majority of our citizens
worship the same Creator-adore the same Redeemer
-believe the same Holy Record of his words, life,
death, resurrection  and ascension; and every rightminded, upright and virtuous individual, of whatever
denomination, sect or belief-Christian, Jew  or Mahometan-intuitively feels and acknowledges the purity,
sublimity and truthfulness of the moral precepts, and
allegorical  illustrations which  pervade  the volume.
While, therefore, as a distinctively Christian community
we are imperatively called upon to recognize, in all our
institutions, the inspired record of our faith, we are
equally bound as educators, in the development and




GENERAL PRINCIPLES.                457
culture of the highest and noblest faculties of our
common nature, to direct the earliest attention of our
pupils to those great lessons of morality and virtue,
those deep and clear fountains of ethical beauty, and
those lofty speculations of duty, obligations, and humanity which are confessedly unfolded in these ancient
writings, as in no other works of ancient or modern
times.
In thus reverently and lovingly opening up to the
expanding minds of the youth of each successive generation, the moral lessons of the Christianity we, as a
people profess, it is, nevertheless, specially incumbent
upon us, not only in view of the fact that the whole or
portions of this Book and of the religion upon which it
is founded, are discredited by large portions of our fellow-citizens, but of the still more important fact that
among those by whom it is implicitly adopted and believed, an almost unlimited  diversity  of interpretation prevails-that no attempt should be made in any
way, to bias the judgment or pre-occupy the mind of
any pupil, in reference either to the truth, of any distinctive denominational doctrine, or the particular bearing of that truth, or the particular inferences to be
drawn from  it for or against any opposite or different interpretation.  Like every other alleged truth of
science, morality or history, so far as the legitimate
purposes of public instruction  are concerned, its evidence, its demonstration, its value, and the objects and
purposes to which it is to be applied, as a mental possession or a practical instrument, should be left to be
evolved by the mind  and the heart of the student,
with such collateral aid as may be procured from other
and extraneous sources-in this instance from  parents
and from the lessons and inculcations of those to whom




458            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
a special authority has been  confided by those who
alone have the right to direct.  The work of education cannot be rightfully or properly performed-the
imperative duty of the teacher cannot be fully and completely discharged,-without the prominent presentation
of these great topics of human thought and interest. The
history of the past three thousand years, cannot be
understood, in  all its leading  and  most important
phases without the introduction'of this essential element which, in its ceaseless flow down the centuries,
has so deeply tinged and so powerfully affected its current. The present aspect of civilization can in nowise
be adequately comprehended, or intelligently appreciated, in its absence. And divested of its high and holy,
influences, the human mind itself loses all its greatness,
its grandeur, its hopes and visions of  immortality,
and finds itself dwarfed into insignificance or crushed
under the inevitable weight of the calamities which
everywhere surround it. But its heavenly lessons must
be left by the public teacher to their own operation.
No dogmatic inculcations of controverted tenets-no
sectarian  glosses of  alleged  doctrinal theology-no
harsh discord of clashing interpretations or authoritative exposition-must be permitted to interfere either
with the conscience of the pupil or the parent, or
with the free and unbiased operation of his own judgment and will.  Let the Holy Volume be reverently
read "without note or comment" at the opening of
each school, or at such other times as the teacher
Find officers may deem  proper-followed, as in most of
the public schools in the city of New York, by the
repetition  in concert of that beautiful and sublime
prayer of our Lord, to which not even infidelity itself
-an take exception, and by some devotional hymn, free




GENERAL PRINCIPLES.                 459
from  all sectarian taint.  If in  any school there be
any whose conscience or convictions of duty  prevent
from uniting in this simple act of worship to the Creator of  the  Universe, let  their attendance  be  excused.
To this extent and only to this extent, the religious
element should, in my judgment, enter into and form
a portion of our system  of public instruction. Whatever may be the peculiar religious faith or religious
convictions of any portion of the community, and however desirous they may be of instilling into the minds
of their children their own faith, convictions and doctrines, I fail to perceive anything in this course, which,
if properly carried out in  its  spirit, can  injuriously
affect or contravene their wishes in this regard.  No
prejudices or prepossessions of whatever nature, for or
against any distinctive view, or special interpretation
of the Christian or Jewish Scriptures, will have been
communicated: no verdict or allegation  even of the
absolute truth of either; or conceding  its truth, no
inferences of any  kind  drawn  or attempted  to  be
drawn from  its statements or declarations.  The facts,
only of its existence-its antiquity  its pretensions-its
history-its doctrines and lessons, unexplained and uninterpreted-are placed before the pupil, for his careful
consideration, his reflection, his study, and his judgment, as facts pertaining to his faculties as a human
being-facts of vast historical importance-an essential
element of instruction, with which, constituted  as his
nature is, he could  no  more dispense than  he could
with any other, even the most important branches of his
course of study. What credit shall be given to themif any-what form they shall assume in their subsequent
development-what inferences, conclusions, dogmas and




460            COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
doctrines they shall evolve in their future progress-all
these results and consequences are left to the working
of his own mind-the unbiased judgment of his own
understanding-and to the operation of the various influences, domestic, social, theological or other which may
be brought to bear upon him.  Is there, then, in all
this, any conceivable ground for the allegation or the
pretence of unjust interference with the rights or the
consciences of others?
A  complete course of public instruction, including
the higher branches at present pursued  in our academic and collegiate institutions, might, very properly,
comprehend in its curriculum a full scientific acquaintance with the history of theology in all its aspects, and
a concise statement of the distinctive  tenets of its
various sects with  the principal grounds upon which
they were respectively based and the prominent arguments and objections by which  they were sustained
and opposed.  Even to this extent no conceivable objection could reasonably be interposed, based upon conscientious grounds.  But, in the existing condition of
our system, only the elementary principles of the several sciences can be taught.  The foundations of language and of the mathematics, the great leading events
of history, the prominent outlines of geography, astronomy and natural, intellectual and moral philosophy and
rhetoric, only can be communicated  during the brief
period allotted to common school instruction.  As we
cannot expect to send forth finished writers and orators, perfect engineers, philosophers, chemists, and astronomers, or great merchants, skillful lawyers, physicians and surgeons, manufacturers, legislators, commanders and  statesmen, so neither can we thoroughly train
clergymen, ministers and prelates for the complete dis



GENERAL PRINCIPLES.                        461
charge  of  their  important functions,  or  instruct  the
members  of their  respective  flocks  in  the knowledge
of the dogmatic theology peculiar to  each.  In all these
branches of learning we can only communicate elementary  instruction, availing   ourselves  of  the  best  and
most authoritative  text-books  in  each.   This, and this
only, with the BIBLE  as our text-book, can  we accomplish  in  the highest and  noblest science of  all-and
this, surely, we  may  claim  the  right  and  assert  the
duty of doing.
" Strange indeed "-remarks the late Col. WILLIAM L. STONE, in his
report as County Superintendent of New York, in 1844, -"atleast, it appears
so to me, that in this world of sin and crime, such grievous prejudices should
exist against allowing our children to drink at the fountain of truth, whence
are derived the loftiest notions of virtue, honor, justice, conscience, piety, and
love of country-all just opinion of the Deity, of moral accountability, of a
future state of happiness for those who do well, and of misery for the unrepenting wicked! Strange-at least, it appears so to me-regarding, as I
have been taught to do, the BIBLE as the mainstay of every blessing with
which our country has been favored-for it was the great chart of civil and
religious liberty to the founders of this mighty Republic-should be deemed
a dangerous book in the hands of the rising generation! Strange, that
parents who wish their children to become acquainted with history, should
shut from their eyes the only historical work in the world which is known,
every word of it, to be true, and from the pages of which alone, can they
become acquainted with the origin of our race, and the first three thousand
years of the world's history! Strange, that those who would have their
children trained in the paths of virtue, should hide from them the purest and
most beautiful lessons of that attribute extant! Strange, that those who
would have their children educated for the bar, should close against their inspection, the works of the greatest law-giver who has ever lived! Strange,
that those who would have their offspring trained for the forum, should exclude from their studies the most glowing passages of eloquence to be found
in any human language! Strange, that those who might fondly hope for a
bard in their family, should inhibit the study of the loftiest strains of poetry
ever written! Strange, that those who only aspire to a good, substantial
English education for their children, should, nevertheless, debar them from
the privilege of reading the book, which of all others, contains the purest
model of our languagea " well of English undefiled! " But stranger than
all, that republicans, holding the belief of man's direct accountability
to his Maker alone, on matters of religion-the enemies of Church and State




462                COMMON  SCHOOL SYSTEM.
-should prohibit to their offspring the inspection of that Great Charter of
civil and religious liberty, which has been conferred upon man directly by his
Creator! But I forbear. In the beautiful language of an anonymous author
before me, I regard the BIBLE' as an invaluable treasure; a volume more
precious than rubies; the repository of all that can enlighten the understanding, comfort the heart, and elevate the affections. It opens to us sources of
pure and unalloyed felicity; it is the rich fountain of faith, of hope, of charity,
of every holy principle and noble virtue. It gilds the dark vale of tears with
beams of celestial peace and sacred joy. It infuses into the bitter cup of
adversity, unutterable consolation, and presents to the enraptured vision of
the poor and friendless sufferer, the radiant mansions of immortal fruition.'
And such a Book must be banished from our schools!"
The  appropriation   of  any  portion   of  the  public
funds  inviolably  set apart  by  constitutional provision,
for the support of Common Schools, to  the maintenance
of institutions  not  coming under  this class, in  which
the peculiar doctrines and tenets of particular religious
denominations  and   sects  are  taught,  is  clearly  unwarranted  either by  law,  or by  any  sound  principles
of justice  or  equity.  Such institutions have the  same
right to  a  participation  in  the  School fund  that any
other  association  of  individuals   established   for  the
promotion  of its own  special objects and  views, possess, and  no  greater.   So  far  as  the  Legislature, in
its wisdom,  may  see fit,  from  funds  at  its  own  disposal, and  not otherwise  appropriated, to  aid  and encourage those or any other private, literary, scientific or
charitable institutions, no one can doubt the right or propriety of its doing so, and no question save that of general
policy  or particular expediency  can  properly  be raised.
But it is obviously an  utterly unjustifiable  perversion
of justice, as well as a palpable violation of the fundamental  law   of  the  State,  to   apply  any  portion  of
the  funds  specifically   set  apart  and  consecrated  to
the  purposes of general and  common  instruction,  or
any  funds   contributed   by  the  tax-payers  generally,




GENERAL PRINCIPLES.                 463
under the sanction  and authority  of law, for this
specific purpose, to the support of institutions, established, maintained and devoted to another, religious,
sectarian, philanthropic, or scientific. Such institutions
are, undoubtedly, highly  laudable  and  proper, and
worthy of all suitable encouragement. The funds, however, for their support, should be drawn, not from
the  common  fund, compulsorily  levied  from  all of
every  sect, occupation  or profession, but, with  the
exception of gratuitous contributions, from  that of the
particular denomination  or society  for whose benefit
they are to be expended.
It is, undoubtedly, much and seriously, to be lamented
that any portion of the children of the rising  generation who would otherwise  participate in the advantages of free common school education, should be withdrawn  from  the public schools, solely and exclusively
that they may be educated in the peculiar tenets of
any particular religious  denomination.  The  perfect
right of every parent to  instill into  the minds of
his children, at the earliest period, those beliefs and
religious convictions, usages and principles which he,
himself, conscientiously deems essential to their temporal and eternal welfare, is neither controverted nor denied. But might not this paramount object be equally
well accomplished, without depriving such children of the
incalculable benefits of mingling with those of other
sects, perhaps, but with whom they are necessarily to
be associated in subsequent life, —whose society and intimacy in the school-room  and its environs can, in no
respect, interfere with or disturb  their own religious
views or destination,-and with whom they can explore
the various fields of knowledge, untrammeled by any
restrictions growing out of the adhesion of their par



464             COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
ents to a particular form of faith?  Is it desirable that
separate schools shall exist for every separate religious
or political sect or for every separate trade, calling, profession, nativity, or pursuit in life? Is it not wiser to
promote and  cherish  a community and  catholicity of
feeling  rather than  the  perpetuation of a  sectarian
spirit-to  seek diligently for truth, through whatever
channels it may be conveyed, rather than  to  erect
formidable  barriers  of  prejudice  and  preconception
against its free admission-and assiduously to cultivate,
enlarge  and  expand  the mental, moral and  religious
faculties with which  we are endowed, throughout all
the fields which the highest and  most varied science
has thrown open to our exertions?




IND EX
A.
ACADEMIES, 5, 53, 68, 436.
ACADEMICAL DEPARTMENTS for the education of teachers, 59, 60, 63,
65, 67, 80, 82, 83, 90, 105, 110, 111, 114, 117, 159, 163-4, 171, 172, 181,
182, 255, 302, 367, 383, 390, 398, 400, 409, 432-33, 436.
AFRICAN SCHOOLS in New York, 31. See COLORED SCHOOLS.
ALBANY, public schools in, 102, 287, 319, 417.
State Normal School at. See NORMAL SCHOOLS.
AMUSEMENTS, innocent, 197.
APPORTIONMENT of School money. See COMMON SCHOOL FUND, SCHOOL
MONEYS.
AUBURN, city of, public schools in, 287, 320, 418.
B.
BARNARD, Hon. Daniel D., report of, 90.
BARNARD, Hon. Henry, 199, 208-9-10, 235.
BARNES, William, 215.
BARR, Samuel D., Dep. Supt. Pub. Instruction, 359, 364, 378.
BEARDSLEY, Hon. Levi, 85.
BEEKMAN, Hon. James W., 4, 101, 256, 268, 276.
BELL, Dr. Andrew, 28.
BENEDICT, Erastus C., 312.
BENEDICT, Hon. T. H., report and bill of, 283-84.
BENTON, Hon. N. S., Sec'y and Supt., character of, 198; at State Conventions, Syracuse and Albany, 199, 207, 215, 218; annual reports of, 21314, 231-2, 241-3.
BETHEL BAPTIST CHURCH, New York, 43 to 47.
BETHUNE, Mrs. Joanna, 72.
BIBLE AND NEW  TESTAMENT, use of, in schools, 22, 95,138, 194-96,
200-207, 212, 307-10, 456-461.
BINGHAMTON, public schools in, 419.
BOUCK, Gov. William C., extracts from message of, 177.
BOWDISH, Hon. John, 228, 229, 277.
BROCKPORT Normal and Training School, 388, 422.
30




466                              INDEX.
BROOKLYN, public schools of, 102, 118, 287, 319, 320, 413-15.
BROWN, Lysander H., 179, 234.
BUFFALO, public schools in, 102, 118, 287, 315-16, 415-16.
Normal and Training School, 388, 404, 427.
BULKLEY, John W., City Supt., Brooklyn, 212, 277, 320, 414-15.
BURROUGHS, Hon. Silas M., reports and bill of, 256, 277, 284.
BUSHWICK, schools in, 287.
C.
CALDWELL, S., 316.
CAMPBELL, Hon. Robert, 229.
CAMPBELL, Rev. William H., 187.
CHASE, Rev. Jonathan, 43, 46, 47.
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION, 444, 455-463.
See RELIGIOUS CONTROVERSIES.
SECTARIAN SCHOOLS.
CLARK, Gov. Myron H., extracts from message of, 324-5, 327.
CLARK, Prof. William W., 244.
CLINTON, Gov. George, extracts from messages of, 5, 6, 11, 12.
CLINTON, Gov. De Witt, 15, 28, 29, 61, 313, 314, 357; extracts from messages of, 27, 38, 39, 50, 51, 56, 61.
CLINTON, Hon. Geo. W., 364.
COBB, Lyman, 200, 201.
COCHRAN, David H., Principal Normal School, Albany, 245.
CODE of Public Instruction, 364.
COHOES, schools in, 287.
COLDEN, Cadwallader D., 47.
COLERIDGE, Samuel Taylor, views of, respecting education, 444-46.
COLE, John 0., 276.
COLLEGES, 5.
COLLEGES, Academies, and Common Schools, reports, &c., of Committees
of, 84, 90, 107, 141-44, 172, 182-86, 256, 277, 283-84.
COLLEGE of the City of New York, 409.
COLONIAL EDUCATION, 2-5.
COLORED CHILDREN, schools for, 41, 48, 248, 433, 436.
COMMISSIONERS of Common Schools, 8.
See DISTRICT COMMISSIONERS.
TowN SUPERINTENDENTS.
for the establishment and organization of Common
Schools, report of, 16 to 23.
COMMON COUNCIL of New York. See RELIGIOUS CONTROVERSIES.
COMMON SCHOOLS, 1, 2, 41, 78, 82, 146-50; foundation and establishment of, 6, 7; act for encouragement of, 7, 8; act of 1812 for establishment of, 33, 34, 116; present condition of, 433-34; number of pupils in,
433.
See SUPERINTENDENTS, annual reports of.




INDEX.                               46 
COMMON SCHOOL EDUCATION in England and America, special report
of Supt. concerning, 376-77.
COMMON SCHOOL FUND.  See SCHOOL MONEYS, 7, 8, 11, 14, 15, 16, 20,
21, 38, 40, 41, 58, 66, 79, 86, 87, 88, 103,
104, 117, 189, 281, 304, 306,432-33.
apportionment of, 304-6, 325, 332, 335, 342,
365-66, 429-30, 432-35.
appropriation of to sectarian purposes, 462,
463.
controversy with Comptroller respecting the
appropriation of to General Fund, 35154, 373-75.
COMMON SCHOOL LAWS, revision and codification of, 96, 116, 117, 287290, 292-96, 301, 304-6, 364.
COMMON SCHOOL LIBRARIES. See DISTRICT LIBRARIES.
COMMION SCHOOL SYSTEM, general summary of, 432; suggestions for
improvements in, 438-9; general principles of, 444-463.
COMPULSORY  EDUCATION, special report of Supt. respecting expediency of, 376-78.
COMSTOCK, Adam, 7, 9, 11.
CONNECTICUT, Common School system of, 40, 67, 69, 103.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION of 1846, proceedings of, relating to
Free Schools, 228-31.
CONSTITUTION, State, provision of, relating to Common School fund, 38
231.
COOPER, Edward, 212, 215.
CORNELL, Ezra, 392.
CORNELL UNIVERSITY, 392-3, 431, 436.
CORPORAL PUNISHMENT, 158-9.
CORTLAND Normal and Training School, 388, 404, 423.
COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS of Common Schools, 106. 115-17, 165, 16870, 172, 178-80, 190-91, 207, 210-11.
petitions for repeal of office of, 141, 207.
reports of committees on, 141-44.
proceedings of State Conventions of, 144
-162, 199-210, 215-228; abolition of
office of, 232-40, 242-43; efforts for
restoration of office of, 247, 250, 288,
357.
See DISTRICT COMMISSIONERS.
COUNTY TREASURERS, duties of, 430, 434-5.
CRANDALL, William L., 277.
D.
DANFORTH, Edward, City Supt. Troy and State Dep. Supt. Pub. Instruction, 394, 418-19.




468                               INDEX.
DENMAN, J. S., 179, 199, 227.
DEPARTMENT of Public Instruction, 84, 312, 405.
DEPOSIT FUND.  See U. S. DEPOSIT FUND.
DEPUTY  SUPERINTENDENTS, 116, 231, 247, 254, 300, 311.
See COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS.
DEWEY, Rev. Chester, 101, 212.
DISTRICT COMMISSIONERS, 325, 331, 338-9, 348-9, 404, 428, 430, 4334-5, 438.
DISTRICT SCHOOL LIBRARIES, 64, 65, 81, 84, 85, 89, 90, 92, 96, 105, 107,
112, 113, 117, 159, 162-63, 172-77, 190, 214, 232, 248, 249, 283, 291, 304,
325-6, 327-31, 333, 335, 338, 345, 346-7, 357, 359-60, 363-4-5, 380, 382,
386-7-8, 396-7, 401-3, 428-9, 433-4, 436, 438.
DIX, Gen. John A., Sec'y and Supt., 78, 79, 356; annual reports of, 79, 82,
86, 88, 90-93, 94, 95; report of, as chairman of Committee of Regents of
the University, 83, 84; character of, and results of his administration,
95, 96; letters of, 146.
DUTCH CHURCHES, 43, 47.
DUTCH COLONISTS, 3.
DWIGHT, Francis, editor Dist. School Journal, 101, 116, 144, 159, 160, 179,
187, 208, 238; death and character of, 212-13.
E.
EATON, Gov. Horace, 215, 218.
EATON, Prof. D. G., 244.
EDUCATION, advantages of, 41, 50, 85, 86, 101; general principles of, 444463; philosophy of, 444-46; view  of Coleridge respecting, 444-46;
definition of, 447-49; physical, 447-51; intellectual, 452; moral, 453;
religious, 455-463.
EMERSON, Frederick, 212.
EMERSON, George B., 144, 150-52, 158, 199, 208.
EUROPE, special report relative to education in, 376-77.
EVENING SCHOOLS, 408.
F.
FARNHAM, George L., City Supt. Syracuse and Binghamton, 320-22, 419.
FEMALE TEACHERS, 54, 160, 185, 186, 344, 366, 401, 433-4, 437-8.
Seminaries for instruction of, 54, 185.
FEMALE NORMAL COLLEGE, N. Y. City, 409.
FINANCIAL CONDITION of Common School system, 432-37.
FISH, Gov. Hamilton, extracts from message of, 247, 276.
FLAGG, Azariah C., Sec'y and Supt., character of, 54, 55, 70, 71; annual
reports of, 55, 57, 62, 63, 66 to 70.
FLUSHING, public schools in, 287.
FOREIGNERS, education of children of, 102, 107-9.
FREDONIA Normal and Training School, 388, 427.




INDEX.                                469
FREE ACADEMY and College, New York, 245, 409.
FREE SCHOLARSHIPS.  See GENESEE COLLEGE-CORNELL UNIVERSITY.
FREE SCHOOL SOCIETY.
PUBLIC SCHOOL SOCIETY.
FREE SCHOOLS, 207, 208, 215-18, 219-231, 242, 250 285, 290-98, 324-5-7,
328-9, 330-1, 332, 357-8, 360-3, 375, 384, 385, 391-2,
395-6, 444.
State Convention at Syracuse, 257, 262-72, 300.
FREE SCHOOL SOCIETY  in New York, 15, 43, 55; controversy with
religious societies, 43-48.
See PUBLIC SCHOOL SOCIETY.
FURMAN, Richard, 7.
G.
GALEN, schools in, 287.
GALLAUDET, Rev. William, 144, 158-9, 160.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES of Common School education, 444-463.
GENERAL SUMMARY of the Common School system, 428.
GENESEE COLLEGE and Wesleyan Seminary, free scholarships in, 332.
GENESEO, Wadsworth Normal and Training School, 388, 427.
GOSPEL and SCHOOL LOTS, 6.
GOVERNORS' MESSAGES, extracts from, 5, 6, 11, 12, 15, 16, 27, 38, 39, 50,
51, 56, 61, 66, 78, 81, 85, 87, 89, 101, 102, 107-9, 135-6, 177, 189, 241,
247, 277, 278, 300, 311, 324-5-7.
GRAY, Daniel, 7.
GREELEY, Hon. Horace, addresses of, at State Free School Convention at
Syracuse, 266-72, 276.
GRISCOM, Dr. John, 48, 145, 158, 160.
H.
HAMMOND, Hon. Jabez D., 10, 24, 34, 36, 37, 101, 144, 145, 160, 179, 277.
HARPER and Brothers, school libraries of, 112.
HASWELL, Henry B., 276.
HAVANA, Peoples' College at, 431.
HAVENS, Jonathan Nicoll, 7.
HAWLEY, Gideon, first Supt. Corn. Schools, character of, 24, 35, 356;
annual reports of, 25, 26, 27, 32, 34; removal of, 36, 37; member of
Ex. Cor. State Normal School, 187.
HENRY, James, Jr., 157, 158, 179, 201, 218, 227.
HIGH  SCHOOLS, in New York, 48; memorial of citizens of Rochester
respecting, 65; establishment of, in cities and villages, 118.
HOFFMAN, Hon. Michael, 186.
HOLBROOK, D., 317.
HOLBROOK, Rev. Josiah, 200, 276, 315.




470                             INDEX.
HOLY SCRIPTURES. See BIBLE AND NEW TESTAMENT.
Statutory provision relative to use of, in N. Y.
City, 138.
HOLMES, Samuel L., Gen. Dep. Supt., 231, 320.
HUDDLESTON, William, 4.
HUDSON, city of, public schools in, 118, 287, 318, 416.
HUGHES, Rt. Rev. John, 121.
HULBURD, Hon. C. T., chairman Corn. on Colleges, &c., reports, &c., of, 172,
182 to 186, 234.
HUNT, Gov. Washington, extracts from messages of, 276, 277, 278, 300.
HUNTER, Thomas, President N. Y. Female Normal College, 409.
INDIAN CHILDREN, schools for, 231, 249, 341, 345, 404, 433, 436.
INFANT SCHOOLS, 72, 73.
INHABITANTS and Voters of School Districts, 8, 9, 64, 428.
INTELLECTUAL EDUCATION, 452.
J.
JAY, Gov. John, 9.
JAY, Peter Augustus, 47, 314.
JOHNSON, Alexander G., Dep. Supt., 247, 277, 306.
JOHNSON, Henry W., Dep. Supt., 300.
K.
KETCHAM, Hiram, 121, 132.
KEYES, Emerson W., Dep. Supt., 340, 341; Acting Supt., 346.
Reports of, 346-355; controversy with Comptroller relative to appropriation of capital of School Fund, 351-54, 373-75.
KINGS COLLEGE, 5.
KINGS FARM SCHOOL, 4.
KING, Hon. John A., Ch'n Corn. on Colleges, &c., report of, 107.
KING, Dr. Theodore F., 146, 147, 150, 160, 179, 215.
KING, Gen. Rufus, 213.
KINGSLEY, Hon. Lewis, report of, on Free Schools, 256-262, 277.
L
LANCASTER, Joseph, 28, 29, 30; visit to N. Y., and death, 32.
LANCASTERIAN SYSTEM  of Instruction, 15, 21, 28-32, 39, 56-59, 61,
72, 73.
LANSINGBURGH, schools in, 287.
LEAVENWORTH, Hon. E. W., Sec'y and Supt., 277, 311.




INDEX.                               471
LEGGETT, Thomas, Jr., 101, 276.
LEGGETT, Andrew W., 101, 276.
LEWIS, Gov. Morgan, extracts from Message of, 12, 13.
LIBRARIES.  See DISTRICT LIBRARIES.
LIBRARY MONEY. See DISTRICT LIBRARIES,-232, 241, 249.
LITERATURE COMMITTEE, Senate, reports from, 51-54, 58, 61, 90.
LITERATURE LOTTERIES, 11.
LITTLE, D. H., 101.
LOCKPORT, Public Schools in, 287, 420.
LOOMIS, Arphaxed, 230, 231.
LYON, Hon. Caleb, 277.
M.
MACLAY, Hon. William  B., Ch'n Com. on Colleges, &c., report of, on pet.
for repeal of Co. Supt. law, 141-144.
MACOMB, Robert, 16.
MACK, Isaac F., 227, 317.
McKEEN, Joseph, Co. Supt., N. Y., 179, 312.
McMASTERS, James M., 264, 273.
MAINE, Common School System of, 67, 69.
MANDEVILLE, Rev. Henry, 264, 277.
MANN, Hon. Charles A., 256.
MANN, Horace, 144, 146, 148, 149, 150, 155-61, 215, 218-226.
MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS, education in, 63, 64, 70, 93.
MARCY, Gov. William L., 91; extracts from Messages of, 78, 81, 85, 87, 89.
MASSACHUSETTS, Common School System of, 67, 69, 186.
Normal Schools in, 181, 182.
MATHEWS, Rev. Dr. Cornelius, 47.
MAY, Rev. Samuel J., 200, 201, 208, 264.
MAYHEW, Hon. Ira, 179, 199.
MECHANICS' SOCIETY, N. Y., schools of, 48.
MECHANICS' MUTUAL PROTECTION  SOCIETY, 277.
MEDINA, schools in, 287.
MERCHANTS' BANK, New York, 14.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, N. Y. City, 74, 76.
MILLER, Dr. John, 277.
MILNER, Rev. Dr., 47.
MISSING, John, 31.
MITCHELL, Dr. Samuel L., 15.
MORAL and Religious Instruction, 94, 453, 455-463.  See BIBLE AND NEW
TESTAMENT: RELIGIOUS CONTROVERSIES.
MORGAN, Hon. Christopher, Sec'y and Supt., 246-7, 357.
Annual Reports of; 247-53, 279-83-90-98.
Pres't Free School State Convention, 262, 267, 276.
Letter of, to Rev. A. T. Young, 285-6.
MUNRO, Hon. David, 228.
MURRAY, John, Jr., 16.




472                               INDEX.
N.
NAY, David, 179, 208, 217-18.
NEWBURGH, Public Schools in, 420.
NEW  TESTAMENT, use of in Common Schools, 194-6, 307-10. See BIBLE.
NEWTOWN, schools in, 287.
NEW  YORK CITY, Trinity and other schools in, prior to the Revolution, 4.
Free School Society, 15, 43-8.
religious controversies and decisions of Common Council, 43-9, 74-7, 119-38.
Public School Society, 55, 74-7, 119-38, 312-13.
Commissioners of School Money in, report of, 132.
Ward Schools in, 137-8, 312.
Public Schools of, 15, 43, 55, 102, 287, 312-15, 406-13.
Free Academy and College, 245, 302-3. 409.
Female Normal College, 409.
NICOLL, Hon. Henry, 228, 229, 230, 276.
NORMAL SCHOOLS, 54, 58, 63, 65, 112, 150-59, 164, 171,182-6-7, 210,241,
243, 244, 303, 326, 333, 398, 403-4, 409, 360,
382-3-4, 388-9, 421-27,432-3, 436.
Acts for establishment of, 187, 382, 404.
NORTH, Rev. Simeon, 212.
NOTT, Rev. Dr. Eliphalet, 268, 277.
0.
OBJECT TEACHING, 350-1.
OGDENSBURGH, Public Schools in, 420.
ONDERDONK, Rt. Rev. B. T., 47.
ONONDAGA COUNTY Teachers' Institute, 215, 277.
ORPHAN ASYLUM  SCHOOLS, 47, 48, 74-7.
OSWEGO, Public Schools in, 320, 416.
Normal and Training School, 360, 388, 421.
OWEGO, Public Schools in, 287.
P.
PAGE, David P., Principal State Normal School, Albany, 187, 215, 218;
death and character of, 243, 244.
PARENTS, duties and obligations of, 159, 452.
PATCHIN, Ira, 157, 159,179.
PATTERSON, Hon. George W., 230.
PECK, Jedediah, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17-23.
PEOPLE'S COLLEGE at Havana, 431.
PERKINS, Prof. Geo. R., 187, 244.
PHELPS, Prof. Wm. F., 244, 268, 277.




INDEX.                                473
PHILOSOPHY of Education, 444-6.
PHYSIOLOGY, study of, 450-51.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION, 448-51.
PIERCE, Prof. O. B, 215, 264, 268, 277.
POTSDAM  Normal and Training School, 388, 404,425.
POTTER, Rev. Dr. Alonzo, 101, 144, 146, 148, 152-5, 159, 160, 187, 199, 200,
201, 205-7, 208, 210-11, 238.
POTTER, Pierpont, 179.
POUGHKEEPSIE, schools in, 287, 318-19, 417.
POWELL, Rev. Dwvid, 188.
PROFANITY, habitual, disqualification of, as a teacher, 196, 197.
PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, Department of, 84, 311, 405, 436.
PUBLIC LANDS, 14, 20, 39.  See COMMoN SCHOOL FUND.
PUBLIC SCHOOL MONEY. See COMMON SCHOOL FUND.
PUBLIC SCHOOL SOCIETY of New York.  See NEW YORK, 55, 71, 72, 77,
119 —38, 312.
PUPILS, number of in common schools, 433, 437.
private schools, 433, 437.
Q.
QUIGLEY, Rev. Dr., decision on complaint of, 307-10.
R.
RANDALL, Hon. Henry S., Co. Supt., 179; special report of, on district
libraries, 172-77, 277, 299; Sec'y and Supt., character of, 299, 300, 310;
annual reports of, 301-6; decision of. relating to religious exercises in
common schools, 307-10.
RANDALL, S. S., General Dep. Supt., 116, 255, 311, 324; acting Supt., 117;
at State Free School Convention, 265, 268; report of, as Code Commissioner, 287-96, 301, 304-6; City Supt. Brooklyn, 320; City Supt. N. Y.,
312.
RATE BILLS, 94, 102, 110, 251, 329-30, 381-2, 383-4, 385.
RAYMOND, Hon. Henry J., 276.
RECEIPTS and Expenditures for support of Common Schools, 433.
REESE, Dr. D. Meredith, Co. Supt. N. Y., 199, 201, 202-4.
REGENTS of the University, 5, 6, 11, 404-5,436.
See ACADEMIES and ACADEMICAL DEPARTMENTS FOR TEACHERS.
RELIGIOUS CONTROVERSIES in New York, 43-9, 74-7, 119-38.
RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION, 22, 94, 128, 129-31, 138, 307-10, 455-463.
RICE, Hon. Victor M., City Supt. Buffalo, 277, 316; Supt. Pub. Inst., character of, 323, 356-58; annual reports of, 325-6-7-31, 332-3, 359-63, 364-76,
378-92; special report of, respecting school systems of Europe and
America, 376-8.
ROBERTSON, Hon. Wm. H., chairman Senate Lit. Com., report and bill of,
creating Dept. Pub. Instr'n, 311.




474                               INDEX.
ROCHESTER, City, Memorial from citizens of, 65; State Conventions of Co.
Supts. at, 162; public schools of, 118, 287, 317, 416.
ROCHESTER, Henry E., Co. Supt. Monroe, 157, 158, 179, 209.
ROELANDSON, Adam, 3.
ROMAN  CATHOLICS, memorials of. See RELIGIOUS CONTROVERSIES.
Schools of, 119.
Benevolent Society, 74.
ROSCOE, Caleb, 276.
RUTGERS, Col. Henry, 47.
S.
SALEM, schools in, 287.
SALISBURY, John H., 199, 321.
SCHENECTADY, schools in, 4, 319, 417.
SCHOOL APPARATUS, 433, 436.
SCHOOL BOOKS, uniformity in, 40, 64, 68, 69, 80, 106, 159.
SCHOOL CELEBRATIONS, 42.
SCHOOL  COMMISSIONERS.  See COMMISSIONERS -  DISTRICT  COMMISSIONERS.
SCHOOL DISCIPLINE, 158-9.
SCHOOL DISTRICTS, number of, 378-9, 433; organization of, 438.
SCHOOL-HOUSES and Sites, 94, 157-8, 213-14, 339, 364-5, 368, 369-70,
376, 379-80, 384, 385-6, 399, 400, 433-34, 436, 437, 438, 448.
SCHOOL LAWS, revision and codification of, 287-90, 292-6, 301, 304-6,
326.
SCHOOL LIBRARIES. See DISTRICT LIBRARIES.
SCHOOL MONEYS, apportionment and distribution of, 284, 304-6, 325, 332,
335, 342, 429-30, 433.
SCHOOL VISITORS, 57, 100, 101, 105, 106.
SECTARIAN  SCHOOLS, 43-8, 74-7, 119-38, 285-6, 462, 463.
See RELIGIOUS CONTROVERSIES.
SEDGWICK, Charles B., 268.
SETON, Samuel W., 30, 312, 314.
SEWARD, Gov. William H., character of, 109, 277; extracts from messages
of, 101, 102, 107, 108, 109, 135, 136.
SEYMOUR, Gov. Horatio, extracts from message of, 311.
SHUTE, John, 4.
SKINNER, Roger, 16.
SMITH, Goldwin, Prof. Political Economy, Cornell University, 393.
SMITH, William, 30.
SOLDIERS and Sailors, children of, 376.
SPENCER, Hon. John C., reports of, from  Senate Literature Committee,
51-4, 58-61; Sec'y and Supt., character of, 97-100, 356; annual reports
of, 102, 105-6, 109-16, 117, 118, 123; report of, on reference of memorials
of Catholics in New York, 124-32; letters of, 146, 236-39.
STANTON, N. P., Jr., 215.
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION, 405.




INDEX.                                 475
STATE  CONVENTIONS  of County  Superintendents, 144-62, 199-210,
215 28.
STATE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION  of 1846, proceedings of, in
relation to Free Schools, 228-31.
STATE FREE SCHOOL CONVENTION, 257, 262-72.
STATE LANDS, 14, 20.  See COMMON SCHOOL FUND.
STATE NORMAL SCHOOLS.  See NORMAL SCHOOLS.
STATE TAX for support of schools, 280, 284, 288-90, 332, 360-63, 375, 384,
385, 392, 432-3.
STATE TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION, 212, 277, 404.
STATEN  ISLAND, schools in, 5.
STEELE, Oliver G., 179, 268, 277, 315.
STONE, William L., Co. Supt. N. Y., 179.
SUPERINTENDENT of Common Schools, 23, 24, 431-2.
Annual reports of, 25-7, 32, 34, 39, 40, 45, 55, 57, 62,
63, 66, 79, 82, 86, 88, 90, 91, 92, 102, 105-6,
109-18, 123, 136-7, 162-72, 177, 178, 189-93,
213-14, 231, 241-43, 247-253, 279-283, 290-298,
301-306, 325-6, 327-331, 332-3, 334-355, 359363-4-376, 378-392, 394-5-405-6.
Appeals to, 39; separation of from Secretary's Department, 287-306, 311-12; special report of, relative
to education in Europe and America, 376-78.
SUPERVISORS, 430.  See TOWN SUPERVISORS.
Boards of, 8, 232.
SYRACUSE, Public Schools of, 208, 287, 320-21-2, 418; State Conventions
at, 199-210, 257, 262.
T.
TEACHERS of Common Schools. See FEMALE TEACHERS, NORMAL SCHOOLS,
ACADEMICAL DEPARTMENTS, 8, 21, 22, 52, 53, 54, 59, 60, 63, 64, 78, 82,
83, 84, 90, 114, 303, 326, 339-40, 342, 344, 347-8, 401, 433-4, 448,451-53,
458; wages of, 110, 433-36, 437-8; certificates of, 429.
TEACHERS' ASSOCIATIONS, 277, 390-91.
TEACHERS' INSTITUTES, 187, 188, 191, 210, 241, 250, 326, 333, 341-43,
348, 360, 367, 383, 390, 398, 403, 431, 433, 436.
TEACHERS' JOURNAL, 212.
TEACHERS, State Convention of, 212, 277, 404.
TEACHING, methods of, 159.
TEXT-BOOKS, uniformity in, 40, 64, 68, 69, 80, 106, 159.
THOMSON, Prof. James B., 188, 215, 227.
THROOP, Gov. E. T.; extract from Message of, 66.
TIBBITS, George M., 277.
TOMPKINS COUNTY, Teachers' Institute, 187, 188.
TOMPKINS, Gov. Daniel D., extracts from Message of, 15, 16.




476                              INDEX.
TOWN CLERKS, duties of, 429-30.
TOWN, Salem, 101, 145, 158, 160, 188, 200, 277.
TOWN Superintendents, 172, 177, 178, 277, 331.
TOWN Supervisors, 331-2, 430.
TOWNSEND, Franklin. 276.
TOWNSEND, Hon. Robert, 230.
TRACY, Hon. Albert H., 316.
TRIIBLE, George T., 314.
TRINITY SCHOOL, New York, 4.
TROY, city of, Public Schools in, 118, 287, 322, 418-19.
TRUANT CHILDREN, provisions for, 384-5.
TRUSTEES of Common Schools, 8, 172,429.
TUTHILL Hon. Franklin, 276.
U.
UNINSTRUCTED  CHILDREN, number of, 370-73, 400, 401.
UNION FREE SCHOOLS, 118, 159, 325, 327, 391, 402.
UNITED  STATES Deposit Fund, 87, 88, 89, 90.  See COMMON SCHOOL
FUND.
UNIVERSITY. See REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY.
UTICA, Public Schools in city of, 118, 287, 322, 419.
V.
VACCINATION of children attending Common Schools, 106.
VALENTINE, Thomas W., editor, N. Y. Teacher, 227.
VAN DYCK, Hon. Henry H., Sec'y and Supt., character of, 334.
Annual reports of, 334-345.
VIRGINIA, school system of, 67.
VISITORS of Common Schools, 57, 100, 101; reports of, 105, 106, 167.
VOCAL MUSIC in Schools, 106.
W.
WADSWORTH, James, 85, 101.
Normal and Training School, Geneseo, 427.
WAINWRIGHT, Rev. Dr., 47.
WATERTOWN, Public Schools in, 420.
WALKER, William, Co. Supt. N. Y., 264.
WEAVER, Hon. Abram B., Supt. Public Instruction,, 394.
Annual reports of, 394-405.
WEBB, Alexander S., President College of the City of New York, 409.
WEBSTER, Dr. Horace, 145, 159; Principal N. Y. Free Academy, 245.
WETMORE, Gen. Prosper M., Ch'n Corn. on Colleges, &c., report of, in favor
of Dept. Public Instruction, 84.




INDEX.                               477
WHELP, John Nicholas, 4.
WHITE, Hon. Andrew D., Prest. Cornell University, 393.
WHITEHOUSE, Rev. Dr., 101.
WILLARD, Mrs. Emma, 200, 208.
WILLIAMSBURGH, Public Schools in, 287.
WING, Halsey R., Co. Supt. Warren, 157-9, 179, 277.
WOOD, Hon. Bradford R., 277.
WOODIN, David G., Co. Supt., Columbia, 179.
WOOLWORTH, Samuel B., Principal Normal School, Albany, 245, 268, 777.
WORDEN, Hon. Alva, 230.
WRIGHT, Albert, Co. Supt., Washington, 179, 201.
WRIGHT, William, "               "       157, 179, 201, 228.
WRIGHT, Gov. Silas, extracts from Message of, 189.
Y.
YATES, John Van Ness, Sec'y and Supt., character of, 38, 48, 49; annual
reports of, 39-41, 45; circular of, recommending school celebrations, 42.
YOUNG, Rev. A. T., 285.
YOUNG, Hon. A. W., 228.
YOUNG, Gov. John, extracts from Message of, 241.
YOUNG, Col. Samuel, Sec'y and Supt., 85; character of, 139-41, 357; annual
reports of, 160, 162-72, 177-8, 187-9-93; letters of, 193-96;
resolutions of State Convention of Co. Supts. in favor of,
208-10.