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First Board of Education in the U.S.
Established in Massachusetts with Horace Mann as its secretary. -
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
Founded in 1837, this was the first college for African-Americans. -
The Normal School
The first Normal school, for the education and training of teachers, established in Lexington, Massachusetts. -
Compulsory Education Required
Massachusetts becomes the first state to enact compulsory education law. Students are required to attend primary school. Fines are levied on parents who do not send their children to school. -
Boston Public Library
Boston Public Library was the first free public library in the U.S. -
Dewey Decimal System
Formulated by Melvil Dewey in 1873, the Dewey Decimal system was first published in 1876. -
The First Fountain Pen
The fountain pen is patented by Lewis Edson Waterman. -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the Louisiana Court decision that Plessy violated the Louisiana Separate Car Act of 1890 requiring blacks to ride in separate railcars than whites. This law stated that it provided 'separate but equal' facilities for blacks, when in fact the facilities for blacks were greatly inferior. -
John Dewey
"My Pedagogic Creed" is published. -
Pencils
The mass producing of pencils at the beginning of the 20th century began to replace slate in the classrooms. -
Joliet Junior College
The first Community College in the U.S. established in Joliet, IL. -
Jane Addams
"Public School and the Immigrant Child" published. -
NAACP Founded
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is founded to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination. -
Maria Montessori
"A Critical Consideration of the New Pedagogy" is published. -
IQ Testing
The U.S. Army conducts the first wide-scale IQ testing of adults. -
U.S. enters World War I
Emphasis on patriotism and unity during the war began a movement in education from state to national educational programs. -
Franklin Bobbitt
"Scientific Method in Curriculum" is published. -
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The Great Depression
With the stock market crash of 1929, the U.S. fell into the Great Depression, a time of great economic decline. Financial constraints caused many children to leave schools and begin working in order to ease family financial burdens. -
Alvarez vs. Board of Trustees of Lemon Grove School District
The first successful desegregation case in the U.S., Mexican students won the right to attend grammar school with the "better class" of students from whom they had been previously segregated. -
George S. Counts
"Dare the School Build a New Social Order" is published. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
Overturning the Plessy vs. Ferguson ruling, the U.S. Supreme court ruled that separate schools for blacks and whites was unconstitutional. -
Little Rock 9
Nine African-American students were the first to enroll in the formerly all-white Central High School in Little Rock, AR. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Outlawed discrimination of people based on race, gender, religion, or nationality. This act marked the formal end to segregation in schools in the U.S.
