“Common school” was the name used for public school in the United States and Canada in the late 19th century. Unlike the modern public school, a common school was funded and managed locally. Common schools were developed to provide free, secular education to all children regardless of their socioeconomic status, gender, religion, or national origin, and attendance was mandatory up to the eighth grade.
Before the establishment of common schools, children’s education was generally considered the responsibility of the family and religious institutions. Individual communities established public schools as early as the mid-17th century, but they were usually not free and aimed to teach basic literacy rather than formal education. Most children were taught at home with private tutors, in private schools, or not at all. Families tended not to educate girls, and wealthy city children had much greater access to education than poor rural children. African American and Native American children were rarely educated, although some communities had charity schools funded by churches and private donors.
After the American Revolution, early attempts to establish secular public education failed due to the tax increases that would have been necessary to fund it. People were also wary of increased federal control in decisions that were traditionally made by families and communities. By 1840, the idea that all children should have equal access to education began to grow in popularity, particularly in the Northern and Midwestern states. By 1870, most U.S. states and Canadian provinces had passed laws related to common schools and compulsory public education.
The idea behind the common school was not only that it should be free and secular, but that there should be some standardization of curricula and teaching practices. With the large number of immigrants entering the United States and Canada at that time, the importance of assimilation and teaching children a common culture and values was emphasized. Roman Catholics and indigenous groups in both countries often fiercely opposed mandatory attendance in common schools because Protestant morals and ethics were often at the center of common school education, and the King James Bible was widely used.
Community and local control was central to common schools, but state standardization became increasingly necessary to ensure that all schools provided the same quality of education. Beginning in the early 20th century, education became increasingly federal and state-controlled, with most local counties and school districts voting to be incorporated into larger districts.
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