Chapter Six

Chapter six informs the reader about the development of common schools and secondary education in America. Thomas Jefferson created a bill in the Virginia legislature in 1779 titled Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge which established public schools for the masses. Tuition was free for all white males and females for three years. The common school movement was from 1830 to 1865 which increased publicly funded schools for common children. Many social groups viewed the common school as a way to control social unrest and crime. In 1831, the first US comprehensive high school was opened in Massachusetts. Higher education slowly became more readily available to women and minorities.