Following the American Revolution, it was a cliché 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.

- 304 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
Aristocratic Education and the Making of the American Republic
About this book
Trusted by 375,005 students
Access to over 1.5 million titles for a fair monthly price.
Study more efficiently using our study tools.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Figure and Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: Why Academies?: Aristocratic Education in Revolutionary America
- Part I: From Denominational Schools to Nationalist Institutions, 1730–1787
- Part II: The Culture of Academies, 1780–1800
- Part III: From Aristocratic Education to Reform, 1787–1830
- Epilogue: The Legacy of Aristocratic Education
- Appendix
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription
No, books cannot be downloaded as external files, such as PDFs, for use outside of Perlego. However, you can download books within the Perlego app for offline reading on mobile or tablet. Learn how to download books offline
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1.5 million books across 990+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn about our mission
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more about Read Aloud
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS and Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app
Yes, you can access Aristocratic Education and the Making of the American Republic by Mark Boonshoft in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & History of Education. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.