On a typical weekday in the U.S. , about50 million kidsare in public school day all around the country . you could give thanks required education law and a rich public school system for that . But how did the United States attain compulsory education for all , anyway ? The root of the pattern might be aged than you think — and the law that got the country on the road to mandatory education have a weird connecter to Satan . Yes , Satan .
It all started in the Massachusetts Bay Colony , a settlement of Puritans who emigrated from England . The settlers were part of a “ great migration ” of Puritans — about 20,000 sum — who flocked to New England between 1629 and 1640 , labour by a desire to lead pious sprightliness and worship freely . Their religious practices were stern and fervent;as one historiographer writes , “ Puritans lived in a changeless state of spiritual anxiety , searching for mansion of God ’s favor or choler . ”
One finicky worry was Satan — the dark lord equal to of conduct humanness astray through distractions , deceptions , and any number of enticement . “ Satan hath his secret to convey us to Eternal Ruine,”wrote Puritan minister of religion John Halein a distinctive anti - Satan screed . “ mystery not easily realise , whereby the depths of Satan are wield in out of sight wayes . ”
Every aspect of life in the new colony reflected the Puritan ’s preoccupation with the devil ’s doings . Massachusetts Puritans act out rigorous laws establish on their values , and focused on community appendage ’ share responsibilities to their faith and to each other . particular attention was paid to the moral and educational development of child , who were have a bun in the oven to beobedient and submissiveto their elder .
Back in England , the educational system had been haphazard : productive tiddler were educated by coach or member of the clergy , while poor ones were left to fend for themselves . The Puritans decided to try another method . In 1642 , they passed a constabulary that required every household head to be responsible for the education of all of their children and dependents ( servants).The law requiredthat everyone be taught to take , and if a parent betray , their tyke could be removed from their home .
But by 1647 , the Puritan General Court decided that parent in the dependency were falling unawares of their responsibility . And so the Old Deluder Satan Act was born [ PDF ] . The jurisprudence ’s name came from its first occupation , which prompt parent that “ one chief project of that old deluder , Satan ” was to keep men from reading the Bible . It was thought that Satan would have less big businessman over children who understood “ the lawful sentience and import ” of the Bible , something that could only be guaranteed if the nipper could read it themselves , without involve to rely on the “ false glosses of Saint - seeming - cheater ” for rendering of scripture .
or else of relying on parent to educate their kids , the law put the responsibility on towns . Townships with 50 house or more had to fork out money and hire a schoolmaster to instruct children to write and read at a “ secondary ” or primary school . If Ithiel Town had 100 households or more , they had to gear up up a secondary school as well as a full grammar school — one whose masters were “ able to instruct younker so far as they may be fit for the Universitie . ”
Today , the Old Deluder Satan Act is think of as the nation ’s first compulsory instruction law . It remained on the books until 1789 , a year after Massachusetts became a state , when it was incorporate into theMassachusetts Education Act . By then , however , mention of Satan was nowhere to be found .
It hire more than a century for the American public school system as we know it to really take clutches ; before the latter half of the 19th century , not all states had required didactics laws , and high school were not yet common [ PDF ] . That change during the Progressive Era , when reformers set to work establishing free schools and mandatory education for everyone — and it all started with a grouping of hoi polloi convinced that Satan was at work in their biotic community .
