Aristocratic Education and the Making of the American Republic

Following the American Revolution, it was a cliche that the new republic's future depended on widespread, informed citizenship. However, instead of immediately creating the common schools--accessible, elementary education--that seemed necessary to create such a citizenry, the Federalists in power founded one of the most ubiquitous but forgotten institutions of early American life: academies, privately run but state-chartered secondary schools that offered European-style education primarily for elites. By 1800, academies had become the most widely incorporated institutions besides churches and transportation projects in nearly every state. In this book, Mark Boonshoft shows how many Americans saw the academy as a caricature of aristocratic European education and how their political reaction against the academy led to a first era of school reform in the United States, helping transform education from a tool of elite privilege into a key component of self-government. And yet the very anti-aristocratic critique that propelled democratic education was conspicuously silent on the persistence of racial and gender inequality in public schooling. By tracing the history of academies in the revolutionary era, Boonshoft offers a new understanding of political power and the origins of public education and segregation in the United States. "This book explains the rise, significance, and legacy of one of the most ubiquitous, significant, but forgotten institutions of early American life: the secondary school academy. Writing in 1788, Noah Webster bemoaned that in the United States "the constitutions are republican, [while] the laws of education are monarchical." Instead of building public, common school systems aimed at fostering a widely informed citizenry, the Federalists in power founded academies. These privately run but state-chartered secondary schools offered a Europe-style education directed primarily at elites. The Federalists' nation-building project, it turns out, depended on these reactionary schools to simultaneously reestablish rule by a traditional elite and legitimize the hierarchy. This, they believed, was necessary to make both the proposed constitutional system function and the United States into a world power. The reaction against this aristocratic educational system helped transform education from a tool of elite privilege into a key component of self-government. Ultimately, reformers successfully argued that the revolutionary promise of equal citizenship required genuinely common, public education. Academies, though, undermined republican ideals. In their curriculum, pedagogy, and culture, academies looked to many Americans like a caricature of education in aristocratic Europe. Even the legal basis for academies-charters of incorporation-screamed of monarchy. Charters had long been a privilege granted by the king. By tracing the history of academies in the revolutionary era, Boonshoft offers a new understanding of the cultural origins of the Federalists' national vision, the nature of the American revolutionary settlement, and, in turn, the origins of public education"-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 12 Introduction: Why Academies?: Aristocratic Education in Revolutionary America 18 Part I: From Denominational Schools to Nationalist Institutions, 1730–1787 28 Chapter one. The Emergence of Academies: The Great Awakening and Colonial Elite Formation 30 Chapter two. The Academy Effect: Civic Education and the American Revolution 48 Chapter three. Rebuilding Academies: Education and Politics in the Confederation Era 66 Part II: The Culture of Academies, 1780–1800 90 Chapter four. Defining Merit: Academies and Inequality 92 Chapter five. Diplomacy and Dance: The Geopolitics of Ornamental Education 113 Part III: From Aristocratic Education to Reform, 1787–1830 136 Chapter six. Creating Consensus: The Politics of State Support for Academies 138 Chapter seven. The First Era of School Reform: War, Panic, and Popular Education 165 Epilogue: The Legacy of Aristocratic Education 198 Appendix 202 Notes 204 Bibliography 246 Index 288 A 288 B 289 C 289 D 290 E 290 F 291 G 291 H 291 I 291 J 292 K 292 L 292 M 292 N 293 O 293 P 293 Q 294 R 294 S 294 T 295 U 295 V 295 w 295 y 296