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Boston Latin School
Boston Latin School was the first public school to be founded in what would become the United States, Boston, Massachusetts. This was an all boys only school and it was strictly for preparation for college. The school was led by schoolmaster Philemon Pormont. They taught grades 7 through 12. Also, among some of the subjects taught was U.S. History and Social Studies. -
First Education Law
This law required towns in Massachusetts that had more than fifty families to establish and maintain public schools. All children were required to read and write. However, this was more of a religious school, children had to learn how to read the bible and the laws of the land. At this time, people thought that teaching children how to read and write, would help their colony be successful. -
Common School Movement
This movement began in the early 1830's. This was meant to provide free education to all students. Their race, heritage, class, wealth, etc. did not matter. Horace Mann was the one believed in starting the movement. He became the first Secretary of Massachusetts State Board of Education. The movement was thought to end around 1900. -
Native American Boarding School
This boarding school was established on the Yakima Indian Reservation. The people involved were eastern informers named Herbet Welsh and Henry Pancoast. What they did was try to educate Natives about the "American Ways" and about the American culture. They wanted to "civilize" the Natives and they would change their way of thinking and their physical aspects. A common quote Americans used was "Kill the Indian, Save the Man". -
The Dawes Act
This act allowed the Federal government to divide tribals lands into individual plots. In this act only the Native American Indians that agreed to this, were able to become U.S. citizens. The objective of this act was to strip Natives of their land, getting rid of their culture and social traditions. Over 90 million acres of tribal land were sold to people who were not natives. -
Plessy V. Ferguson
The reason why the Plessy V. Ferguson trial was created was because it was believed that Homer Plessy violated "The Separate Car Act" in Louisiana. It all began when Homer Adolph Plessy got on an "whites only" car and once he was told to vacate and he refused, he was arrested. Once in trial, Plessy argued that this violated the 13th and 14th amendments.Meanwhile, judge John Ferguson argued that this fell under the "separate but equal" doctrine and this lead to Plessy being convicted. -
Smith Hughes Act
This act passed on 1917 and it provided funding for vocational education. This is intended to teach people more about different type of subjects. However, the purpose of vocational education here was meant to teach about agriculture, industrial trades, and in home economics. This act was previously known as National Vocational Education Act. -
Indian Citizenship Act
This act obviously granted all Native Americans citizenship. However, with this they did not have the right to vote yet. The right to vote was granted for them until 1957. Before this, they only gave citizenship to Natives who only had one half or less of the Indian blood. -
Brown V. Board of Education/ Topeka
In this case, the ones involved was the board of education and Oliver Brown. Oliver Brown took the board of education to court because they were violating their rights. At the time, many African American children were not able to go to the same school as white children. The board of education argued that this fell under the "Separate but Equal" act. The court concluded that this violated a student's rights and the protections of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment. -
Title IX
Title IX basically prohibits educational institutions to discriminate against staff, students, etc. based on their sex. This was a huge step for everyone, especially women, since men had more rights than them. Also, institutions had to treat people of all sexes equally in terms of education, sports, clubs, etc. Before this, few women had the same opportunities as men. This was enacted and signed by Richard Nixon. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
This act required public schools receiving federal funds to provide free education for children with physical/mental disabilities. Schools were also required to provide them with one free meal daily. Part of the act required for teachers to evaluate each child and to create a plan to help them in their education. However, they had to contact the parents of each child so they could be aware and present in their child's learning experience. Children also got to interact with non impaired children. -
Plyler V. Doe
What was argued in this case was whether or not children who were not born in the United States should receive free, public education. James Plyler argued that they should receive free education regardless of their immigration status. John Doe, agreed otherwise. However, the court agreed that they are still human and afford the 14th amendment protections.
