Leading historians provide new insights into the founding generation's views on the place of public education in America. This volume explores enduring themes, such as gender, race, religion, and central vs. local control, in seven essays of the 1790s on how to implement public education in the new USA. The original essays are included as well.

Foreword; Carl F. Kaestle 1. Introduction; Benjamin Justice PART I: METHODS 2. The Mysterious No. 3; Lisa Green 3. 'Raked from the Rubbish': Stylometric Authorship Attribution and the 1795 American Philosophical Society Education Contest; Eric Strome PART II: MEANINGS 4. False Start: The Failure of an Early Race to the Top; Campbell Scribner 5. Useful Knowledge in the Early Republic; Nancy Beadie 6. Race and Schooling in Early Republican Philadelphia; Hilary Moss 7. Gender and Citizenship in Educational Plans in the New Republic; Margaret Nash 8. The Significance of the 'French School' in Early National Female Education; Kim Tolley 9. The Place of Religion in Early National School Plans; Benjamin Justice 10. The Perceived Dangers of Study Abroad, 1780-1800: Nationalism, Internationalism, and the Origins of the American University; Adam Nelson PART III: MATERIALS Essays from the American Philosophical Society Education Contest, 1795-1797 Introduction to the Essays: Reading the Late 18th century in the Early 21st; Benjamin Justice Samuel Harrison Smith, Remarks on Education Rev. Samuel Knox, An Essay on the Best System of Education Review of Essay #3 Hiram, On Education and Public Schools Academicus, Plan for the Education of Youth Hand, Concerning Education in Public Schools Freedom, Concerning Education in Pennsylvania