Introduction
There are countless people that educate, create, and question the world we live in. Below, you can find some information on some of the most influential education theorists and philosophers throughout American history. Alongside each photo you will find the name of the educator, a summary of their profound work, and the impacts that they made on American education. All information was learned and based off of the book American Education a History by Wayne Urban. I suggest clicking on the names, or photo, of each person to follow a hypertext link that allows you to explore and research further details on each individual.
![]() Noah Webster
Best known for his famous American Spelling Book and American Dictionary of the English Language. Webster worked as a school master and founded Amherst College. Noah Webster believed in the importance of education for a successful society. His beliefs even went as far as to state that education was the most important business in civil society. Webster believed in the education of people to produce humble citizens that were devout and submissive to Christianity and legitimate authority. The work of the two published books set course and model for textbooks produced throughout the nineteenth century. ![]() Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson believed in Deism, a religion based belief that considered God as a "great clock-maker" that set things into motion but did not interfere. Jefferson fought for the education of young individuals to question higher authority while growing and developing into active citizens of the nation. He believed strongly that in order to preserve liberty, people must be educated to know their rights and civic duties. One of the authors of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson believed this document would start the nation anew, along with guidelines to educate the citizens of the new nation. ![]() Abigail Adams
Arguably known as one of the most influential advocates for gender equality of her time. One of her most well known quotes was, "if we mean to have Heroes, Statesmen, and Philosophers, we should have learned women" (Abigail Adams). Abigail Adams was a strong advocate for women's rights and integrating women into teaching positions. Her contribution, along with many others, altered the path for women in education for generations to come. ![]() Jean Jacques Rousseau
Jean Jacques Rousseau was an influential philosopher of the Enlightenment movement. He believed that all humans were born good, not neutral, and free. He blamed the environment people grow up in for their corruption and the validation of slavery. Rousseau fought in regards to the approach of educating young children. He believed education played a key role in shaping people into who they are. Rousseau believed that education could lead to enlightenment and would fight against ignorance and injustice. His ideas were used for the reform of education and the foundation of future philosophers. ![]() John Locke
John Locke was also a philosopher of the Enlightenment period. His ideas and beliefs inspired those of Jean Jacques Rousseau. Locke gave light to the idea that all humans are born with a clean slate, or "tabula rasa", when they are born. He fueled the idea that corruption is taught and learned, not natural born. Locke's work is important to note in education history because it challenged what was supposed to be "known" as fact. He fostered the idea that curiosity is essential and the need for education to question the world we live in. |
![]() Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin was one of the biggest advocates for education in his time. Franklin advocated for reform in the current time period's education system. He wanted to see students educated on things that mattered in current day and would prepare students for occupation. Franklin insisted on his generation moving on from the education tactics of the past and start a new era of learning. One of Franklin's most lasting impacts was his formation of the Junto club, which provided education and intellectual discussion on current topics of the time period and lasted forty years, with many other clubs formed just like it. An author of the Declaration of Independence, alongside Thomas Jefferson, advocating for a new order and education for a new nation. ![]() Horace Mann
Better known as "The Father of the Common School", Horace Mann was the most famous advocated for the common school movement. Mann strategically argued for the common school to appeal to both the working class and the wealthy. He held nonsectarian views and believed in the teaching of broad Christian principles. Today, the common school is not so common. However, Mann's ideologies aided America in a forward movement towards more educational than religious school systems, creating a lasting impact and an important building block. ![]() William Holmes McGuffey
Most well known for his book series known as the McGuffey Readers, William Holmes McGuffey revolutionized the idea of the classroom textbook. His series was full of Bible stories, moral lessons, essays and speeches from some of the greatest influencers of the world. Believed in recitation and reading should be at the heart of teaching strategy along with heavy teaching in Christianity. The McGuffey Readers were widely popular during the nineteenth and twentieth century, and are even sometimes still used today by some that choose to home school their children. ![]() Catharine Beecher
Catharine Beecher was an advocate for equal education of women. She opened both the Hartford Female Seminary and the Western Female Institute. These schools offered a formal education to women masked by the accepted domestic training of females. Beecher focused her work on shining the spotlight on how the female role was vital to society as a while. In her published work, Treatise on Domestic Economy, she outlines how a woman's role may very well be domesticated, but focused on their social and economic function. Beecher provided an expansion on the current limits of the female role in the home and the society. Her work was a stepping stone on the path of the feminist movement, which paved it's way into the twentieth century. ![]() Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an incredible example of the power behind literacy and the acquisition of knowledge. Douglass taught himself to read and write while he was enslaved. He chose to share his knowledge with other slaves, so that it may be to their benefit. Douglass was self-taught and saw the meaning of education and knowledge. He taught others to help expand their minds and share the power of education. Douglass understood that education and literacy was a form of freedom he had not yet had. His success through struggle made him an example that reflected the importance of education for all, from back then and in today's classrooms. |