Originally published on May 29, 2019 (Episode 112)
Introduction
The history of American public education is not just a story of classrooms and curricula—it is also the story of politics, taxation, and governance. From the Revolutionary era onward, Americans began to experiment with new models of schooling, balancing ideals of democracy with the practical realities of funding and supervision.
These early decisions shaped how schools would be organized, funded, and justified to the public. The struggles over taxation, oversight, and community control left legacies that still define debates over public education today.
In this episode, Johann Neem joins me to explore the roots and purposes of public schools in America. His book Democracy’s Schools: The Rise of Public Education in America reveals how the nation sought to build not only citizens, but a system of education to sustain democracy itself.
About the Guest
Johann Neem is Professor of History at Western Washington University and Senior Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia. He is the author of Democracy’s Schools: The Rise of Public Education in America (Hopkins, 2017) and the forthcoming What’s the Point of College? His work explores the cultural and institutional foundations of American democracy.
For Further Investigation
Johann Neem, Democracy’s Schools: The Rise of Public Education in America (Hopkins, 2017)
Horace Mann, Annual Reports of the Secretary of the Board of Education
Carl F. Kaestle, Pillars of the Republic: Common Schools and American Society, 1780–1860 (Macmillan, 1983)
Lawrence A. Cremin, American Education: The National Experience, 1783–1876 (Harper and Row, 1980)
Listen & Discuss
How did early Americans justify public education as essential to democracy?
What political and financial battles shaped the system we have today?
To what extent are today’s debates over education echoes of those early conflicts?
👉 Share this episode with a teacher, parent, or school board member—it’s a reminder that today’s debates have deep historical roots.
