As far back as the mid-1600s, the Puritans encouraged literacy so followers could read the Bible. In Massachusetts, women taught “dame schools” for young children out of their own homes; older children attended schools specifically for reading and writing; and private schools provided more comprehensive education for the elite.
A century later, Thomas Jefferson (who founded the University of Virginia) advocated universal education for a different purpose: to prevent tyranny. But outside of New England, only a privileged minority of children attended academies or day schools for at least another century.
Massachusetts passed the first law for compulsory elementary education in 1852. Other states followed suit in succeeding decades. But by the late 1800s, only about half of children ages 5 to 19 were enrolled in school.
This number rose in the early 1900s due to anti-child labor activism and a desire to promote assimilation for immigrant children. High school attendance became more common, too, but wasn’t required. As late as 1970, just over half of US residents
