Protestant Education in Early America: A Brief History

Abstract

The classical foundations of American education provided an intellectual unity to the developing culture of the colonies as well as to that of the early republic. Primary education and institutions of higher learning assumed a core body of knowledge rooted in the classical liberal arts tradition. They also assumed knowledge of the Judeo-Christian roots of the culture. Though such men as Jefferson and Franklin were skeptical about this tradition, they were very much products of this form of schooling. Other traditions departing from these classical roots, such as the Quakers, also relied heavily upon the essentials of this common tradition. Witherspoon stands as the most influential exemplar of classical learning among the founders. Indeed, much of the common conviction that served the American revolutionary leadership, including ideals of liberty, limited government, and the worth of the human person, emerged in great part out of this common intellectual culture. Formative documents, such as the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, stand as evidence of this influence. Efforts to infuse what was considered practical studies in agriculture, economics, navigation, and industry ultimately weakened the strength of the classical tradition in the nineteenth century.

You parents can provide no better gift for your children than an education in the liberal arts

––Martin Luther (1483–1546)

(as cited in Brondos, 2008, p. 139)

But if the Lord has willed that we be helped in physics, dialectic, mathematics and other like disciplines … let us use this assistance. For if we neglect God’s gift freely offered in these arts, we ought to suffer just punishment for our sloths

––John Calvin (1509–1564)

(as cited in Gamble, 2007, pp. 445–446)