MAGAZINE OF WESTERN HISTORY

Vol. VII  January, 1888   No. 3.

ORIGIN OF THE OHIO SCHOOL SYSTEM

 by Mortimer D. Leggett

     No one can correctly give the origin of our Ohio school system without be­ginning with the services of Samuel Lewis. At the age of twenty he com­menced the study of law with Judge Jacob Burnett of Cincinnati. Two years later he was admitted to the bar, and almost imme­diately obtained a good practice.

    Very soon after entering his profes­sion and becoming somewhat easy in circumstances, his mind reverted to the hard road he had traveled ob­taining his education.  Being a very warm-hearted, Chris­tian man, he naturally spent much time in trying to devise methods whereby education could be made easier for others similarly situated. In this way he became the moving spirit in the public awakening that [which] culminated finally in our present admirable com­mon school system. He was a popular public speaker and a very successful advocate or jury lawyer. His great persuasive powers were used, on every proper occasion in favor of popular education both on the platform and in private conversation with men of culture and influence.

    He was the earliest and most active supporter of the Western College of Teachers, established in 1831, and through this institution and its members he was able to much more rapidly ex­tend his influence and teachings in favor of popular education.

    At this time the state had, substan­tially, no public school fund, and not more than half the school districts in the state had school houses, and a large proportion of the school-houses were not worth to ex­ceed ten dollars each. Every child entering these schools had to pay a tuition fee, the amount determined by the length of time of attendance. Very few districts maintained schools more than three months in a year, and many districts would be for years with no school at all.

    The circle of Mr. Lewis' influence continued to widen until the beginning of 1837. When he and his views became well-known over the state, the legislature passed a law creating the office of state superintendent of common schools, and elected him to the office.

    He traveled almost all over the state on horseback during the year, speaking everywhere, and awakened great interest in his cause. At the meeting of the legislature at the begin­ning of 1838, he made a full and inter­esting report and recommended several important measures. The legislature had in it many able men, such as Seabury Ford (afterward governor). Ben­jamin F. Wade, Leicester King, etc. This legislature created a school fund­, gave to cities and incorporated towns power to establish schools of higher grade,­ provided for county school examiners, and many acts of less importance.

    Mr. Lewis continued his very valuable services during 1838 and 1839_, and very much increased the qualifications of the teachers, the quality of the schools, and the general intelligence and interest in the matter of popular education.

    Professor C. E. Stowe, D. D., of Lane Theological seminary of Cincin­nati, was an intimate personal friend of Mr. Lewis, and shared with him in his zeal for popular education. In 1836 Professor Stowe went abroad for the purpose of securing a library for Lane seminary, and was requested, in behalf of the state of Ohio, to examine into the school system of Prussia and some other German states. He reported to the legislature at the session of 1837-8. This report was one of the most inter­esting documents on popular education ever published fn the United States, and attracted great attention' every­where. The Prussian public schools were well graded, embraced a very complete course of study, secured thorough teachers and teaching, were' absolutely free to all, and attendance was made compulsory.

    When Professor Stowe’s report was made public through the legislature, many persons in all parts of the state, who owned much property and few children, took the alarm and readily saw that the teachings and aims of Mr. Lewis were free schools in Ohio. They denied the right of the state to tax the rich to educate the poor. This element became a formidable opposition to Mr. Lewis during his third year. When the next legislature met it was found strong enough in the legislature and lobbies to secure a repeal of the law creating a state superintendent of public schools, and Mr. Lewis went out of office.

    In 1839 Dr. Asa D. Lord came from St. Lawrence county, New York, and started' a school under the name of  “The Western Reserve Teachers' Semi­nary," in the old Mormon temple at Kirtland, in Lake county. This school was primarily intended to educate com­mon school teachers, but also had a classical department. Dr. Lord was a mild tempered and quiet man, gen­teel and dignified, yet very positive, sincere and earnest. He was an indefatigable student, and a most ardent advocate of free public school education. His zeal and enthusiasm in pressing this cause knew no bounds. He possessed also a remarkable ability to impress himself and his views upon his pupils. He almost immediately built up a large school, composed almost exclusively of young men and women who desired to fit themselves thoroughly for teachers. Every graduate went home a zealous advocate of free classified schools. Thus hundreds of intelligent and en­thusiastic teachers went from this school into all parts of the state, and everywhere taught and preached free schools. At that time it was the custom in the country schools for teachers to"board around." They were paid so much a month and boarded; and it was expected that they would go from house to house among those who sent their children to school. The time they remained at each house was proportioned to the number of children in school from each family. This plan had the virtue of giving to these teachers an excellent opportunity to inculcate their views in relation to our common school system an oppor­tunity of which few failed to avail themselves. Under this process, pub­lic sentiment rapidly underwent a thorough change, and the patrons of the common schools were becoming favorable to the plan of free graded schools.

    There was, however, a quite large and influential class who strongly opposed the plan, and became more and more outspoken as it increased in popularity. The opposition was really composed of more than one class. First, were the large property holders, who denied the justice of taxing one man to educate another man's children. Second, those who were unwilling to have their chil­dren go to the same school as the chil­dren of the poor; or children of those of alleged lower social rank. Such parents felt, as they must be to the ex­pense of sending their children to pri­vate or select schools, they ought not to be taxed to support schools they would not patronize. Third, there was still another class who opposed free schools on the ground that it was bad policy to educate the poor, that the tendency of education was to make the poor dis­contented, unwilling to work for a sup­port.

    In 1843 another educational institu­tion was devised, novel in its character but powerful in its influence. That was "The Teachers' Institute." This was intended, nominally_, to furnish a course of practical lectures to teachers, continuing from one to three weeks. But a leading object was to reach the thinking men and women of the public at large. The days were generally used for the benefit of teach­ers and the evenings for popular ad­dresses to the public on educational matters. In these evening meetings a time was set apart for questions or criti­cisms from the public, and often resulted in spirited discussions of the merits of a free school system. The teachers’ in­stitutes were held at towns all over the state. The first was held in Sandusky, and was conducted principally by Dr. Lord, Mr. M. F. Cowdery (both of whom are now dead) Dr. John Nichols, now of Columbus, and the writer. All were teachers or pro­fessors in the Western Reserve Teach­ers' seminary. The vacations of the seminary were almost all devoted to teachers' institutes, by these professors, for several years. One of the most efficient Colonel Loren Andrews, afterward president of' Kenyon college, who died during the war of disease con­tracted in the army, where he was Col­onel of the Fourth Ohio infantry. Col­onel Andrews was a pleasing and bril­liant speaker, and exercised a powerful influence wherever he spoke. In 1845 and 1846 Dr. Lord, Mr. M.F. Cowdery, Colonel Loren Andrews and the writer divided the state into four sections, each taking a section to work up as thoroughly as possible. In this way public meetings were held in almost every town and city in the state. This resulted in a very general interest being awakened everywhere, and many members of the legislature of both parties were committed in favor of free schools--still there was not a majority. Great care had all along been exercised to keep the question out of politics. An effort was always made to have both a Whig and a Democrat speak at each meeting. The effort was successful--it never became a party question.

    In the autumn of 1846 a series of meetings was held at Akron which were attended very largely by the citizens. The lec­turers there were Mr. M.F. Cowdery, Honorable T. W. Harvey and the writer. A committee of citizens and the writer were selected to devise some practical plan for the town of Akron. We drafted a bill for a local law for Akron, which proved satisfactory to a meeting of the citizens, and a mammoth petition to the legislature was got up. General L. Bierce,  Mr. H. K. Smith of Akron, and the writer were appointed a committee to take the bill and the petition to Columbus and lay them before the legislature. When the legislature met we had no difficulty whatever in getting the bill through both houses without change or amendment. Honorable Harvey Rice of this city [Cleveland,] who was a leading Democrat, and Judge Worcester of Norwalk, who was a leading Whig, were both in the legislature, if I remember correctly, and both were strongly in favor of free schools.

    The people of Akron elected a board of education in the spring of 1847, and in September of that year the writer was invited to organize and superintend their schools. They were organized at first into three grades, and an excellent class of teachers was selected and the schools were started. There were a dozen or more private schools in the town, patronized by children too good to attend school with those not able to pay tuition, but more than half the children within school age were in the public schools. This state of things did not, however, last long. It was soon discovered that the best teachers, the best discipline and the best instruction were in the public free schools.  So the children from the private schools began to find their way to the public schools as fast as room could be provided for them.  Before the end of the first year the last private school had closed. As soon as the schools were fairly in operation, delegations of citizens from other towns and cities commenced visiting Akron to examine into the workings of what was soon known all over the state as the Akron school law. Scarcely a day passed without visitors in every school room in the town. The papers made frequent and very favorable men­tion of the workings of the system, and the people soon became very proud of their school system.

    At the next meeting of the legislature, on petitions, the Akron law was ex­tended  to several other cities and towns. I think the next town after Akron to adopt the system was Sandusky. Two years later the number of such petitions was so great that the legislature passed a general law authorizing any city or incorporated town in the state 'to adopt the Akron law by a majority vote of its voters at any regular election. Under this provision there was a quite general adoption of the law in towns and cities.