Pleasant Valley School (2018) 11x14, Pigment Ink Print

The first compulsory education law in this country was enacted in 1642 in the Massachusetts Puritan Bay Colony. The Puritan notion of education as a moral, social obligation was thus given the sanction of law, a pattern later followed by nineteenth century crusaders for free public education. By 1918, all states had passed school attendance legislation, although until the 1930s, many were unsuccessful in the enforcing their compulsory schooling laws. However, as the population increased, and as the demand for well-trained labor grew, the bureaucratic machinery for enforcement was created. Of course, not all elements of American society have supported compulsory public-school attendance. Court cases dealing with Constitutional issues have arisen from the opposition of some groups to mandatory schooling.

Horace Mann (1796–1859) known as the father of American education. Mann was a major force behind establishing unified school systems and worked to establish a varied curriculum that excluded sectarian instruction. His vision of public education was a precursor to the Supreme Court’s eventual interpretation of the establishment clause and church-state separation principles in public schools.