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Period: 500 to Jan 1, 1500
The Middle Ages
Infancy to age 7 was viewed as a period of growth. Gender roles were reinforced early, with boys and girls following their respective parents around and contributing whenever possible. Survival was a constant worry (high mortality rates, plague, Crusades, Witch Hunts) and children were expected to work as soon and as much as they were able. Education was sparse and limited to noble families; most learning occured through hands on training and assimilation through an apprentice model. -
Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
In an attempt to make peace with his Barons, King John signed the Magna Carta. This document served as inspiration for the U.S. Constitution and challenged the absolute authority of the king, subjecting him to the rule of the law. It introduced the idea of the right to due process (Habeas Corpus), stating, "No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled … except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land." -
Jul 20, 1304
Francesco Petrarch -Poet and Humanist
A lyric poet and prolific writer, Petrarch dedicated his life to the pursuit of knowledge. He was born on 20 July 1304 and died in 1374. He believed that the exploration of knowledge, art, and culture did not lie in contrast to religious pursuits. Considered one of the fathers of the Renaissance, he spent his life trying to find and demonstrate a balance between the two realms. -
Jan 1, 1440
Gutenberg's Printing Press
Around this time, Johannes Gutenberg created Europe's 1st movable type printing press (*predated by earlier versions in China) which allowed for the mass production of printed material. -
Period: Nov 10, 1483 to Feb 18, 1546
Martin Luther
This famous Protestant reformer changes the shape of western culture by insisting that people were in control of their own salvation and thus everyone should be taught to read in order to understand God's words directly. He subsequently became a staunch advocator of compulsory education for all children. -
Mar 26, 1484
English Print Version of Aesop's Fables
First published by William Caxton, this collection of morality tales (and the many versions that both preceded and followed) were used by adults to shape children’s' moral outlook. -
Oct 31, 1517
Martin Luther - 95 Theses
On this day, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses of Contention on the castle church door, publically challenging the power of the Catholic Church and decrying the rampant corruption he saw in its ranks. -
The Lost Colony
In July of 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh sent over 100 male settlers to Roanoke Island. This attempt failed, however, in August of 1587 the English tried again (this time with men, women, and children) only to have the colony disappear without a trace. -
Jamestown
The Virginia Company explorers founded the English Colony of Virginia in May of 1697. This was the first of many permanent and successful settlements, which ultimately led to the demise of the native inhabitant and the creation of the United States of America. -
Period: to
John Locke
Locke is known for his ideas on the sovereignty of the individual and the nature of legitimate government. He advocated for religious toleration and believed in the separation of Church and State. Concerned with discovering the limits of human understanding, he expounded the empirical theory of knowledge and argued that humans at birth are a “clean slate” upon which our experience, through sensation and reflection, writes with the materials formed of our ideas. -
1st Printing Press arrives in the colonies.
In 1638, the Rev. & Mrs. Glover set up a printing press at Harvard College. "The first thing printed was the freemen's oath; the next was an almanac made for New England by Mr. William Pierce, mariner; the next was the Psalms newly turned into verse," known as the Bay Psalm Book. (The Harvard Crimson) -
Massachusetts Education Laws
The Massachusetts Law of 1642 required that caregivers (parents, masters, etc.) ensure that the children under their care acquire basic literacy skills, so as to comprehend (and abide by) the principles of religion and the civic laws of the Commonwealth. -
Massachusetts School Law
In light of the widespread failure of heads of household to see to the basic education of their children and wards, the Massachusetts Law of 1647 (The Old Deluder Act) decreed that all towns with more than 50 families must hire a school mater to teach the children to read and write. This marked the shift from the individual responsibility for education to a civic one. This law eventually led to the creation of publically funded schools. -
Two Treatises of Civil Government
Published in December of 1689, Locke's Two Treatises of Civil Government argues that sovereignty resides in the individual and expounds on the nature of legitimate government in terms of natural rights and the social contract. His ideas strongly influenced the authors of the Declaration of Independence. -
The Pennsylvania Gazette
In 1729, Benjamin Franklin took over publication of The Pennsylvania Gazette, which went on to become the most successful newspaper in the colonies. -
High literacy rates in the colonies.
According to the National Humanities Center, in 1750 New England, almost 70 percent of white men and 45 percent of white women could read; in the southern colonies, the rates were slightly lower, with about 50-60 percent of men and 40 percent of women literate. -
Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Emile was published.
Rousseau's ideas have influenced educational, political, and social theory. Émile, his treatise on education, centered on a students’ moral character and the development of civic awareness and responsibility. ‘The noblest work in education is to make a reasoning man, and we expect to train a young child by making him reason! This is beginning at the end; this is making an instrument of a result. If children understood how to reason they would not need to be educated.” (Rousseau, Emile) -
The Declaration of Independence
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Period: to
Industrial Revolution
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Eli Whitney invents the Cotton Gin
The cotton gin facilitated the mass production of cotton by automating the separation of cottonseed from the raw cotton fibers. This contributed to the industrialization of the textile industry. -
Industrialization
Cotton Gin was invented by Eli Whitney. Child Labor began to be an increasing fad -
Period: to
Manifest Destiny
Also called the Divine Destiny, or Westward movement. Many families traveled to the west coast. -
English High School Opens
The first public high school opened in Boston, MA in 1821. Although its locations has moved over the years, the school is still in existence today. -
Monroe Doctrine
Stated that any European efforts to colonize or interfere with the US would be seen as an act of aggression. Allowing Americans seperation from Europe and start their own culture -
child labor
new england unions condemned child labor -
Excuse for war
Democratic party use Westward expansion as a reason for War against Mexico. -
Period: to
Oregan Trail
Led many settlers west to Orangan's Williamette Valley. -
Preemtion Act
Allowed people to purchase 160 acres of Plains land. Allowed for homesteads to be formed once again. -
Adams opposes Minifest Destiny
John Quincy Adams opposes Minifest Destiny due to the involved expansion of slavery in Texas. -
Oregan Treaty
Treaty created a settlemnt over the Northern boundary of Oregan -
Gold found
Gold found in Sutter's Mill moved thousands from the East to California. -
Compromise of 1850
Attempted to lesses pre war tensions, admitted California to statehood. -
Homestead Act
Act divided 2.5 million acres of plots divided into 160 acre units. -
Lewis Hine
Founded the National Child Labor Committee, which worked to give children an equal right to education and minimal labor. -
Grace Abbott Joined Department of Labor
She was assigned to the children's rights department and began implemting children labor laws. -
Abbott Headed Children's Bureau Campaign
Abbott tried to amend the constitution to include laws limiting child labor, Brought fourth the New Deal legislation which regulated the labor of children under sixteen. -
Black Tuesday
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5 million students enrolled in highschool
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Survey
A survey of 150 school districts reveals that three quarters of them are used so-called intelligence testing to place students in different academic tracks. -
Pearl Harbor
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End of WWII
At the end of World War 2, the G.I. Bill of Rights gives thousands of working class men college scholarships for the first time in U.S. History. -
Untied Nations Founded
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1946 Dr. Spock
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Brown v. Board
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. The Supreme Court unanimously agrees that segregated schools are unequal and most be abolished. -
Dr. Seuss publishes "Cat in the Hat"
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Lego Toy Bricks Introduced
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National Defense Education Act
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Sesame Street airs
