Horace Mann

HORACE MANN

“Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity. The Father of the American School System also known as Horace Mann (1796-1859) made several improvements with education that represented his victory for humanity” (Cremin 8). A relentless, enthusiastic member of the Whig Party, Mann argued that the common school, a free, comprehensive, non-sectarian, and public institution, was the best means of achieving the moral and “socio economic uplift of all Americans” (Cremin 8). Horace Mann was a national spokesman for education reform, he wrote numerous countless books and even founded and edited The Common School Journal, which was a publication that favorably expanded the message that “public schools should be more open and nurturing, with a wider curriculum delivered by professional teachers”(Cremin 8). Mann was so zealous about improving education, that he traveled to schools in Massachusetts to determine their needs and also went to Europe in 1843 to research educational institutions in Europe; “he was especially impressed with the school system existing in Prussia, including the Prussian approach to educating deaf children”. (Graham Warder)

In general, Horace Mann was an American Politician and education reformer. Mann was born into poverty in Franklin, Massachusetts in 1796, and was predominantly self-taught. At the age of twenty, Mann was a sophomore at Brown University. While attending Brown, he took an avid interest in politics, education, and social reform. Upon his commencement at Brown University, Mann practiced law before winning a seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives where he served from 1827 through 1833. During the time he served with the House Representatives, Mann used his position power to legislate paramount education improvements. “During the time of Mann’s existence, the United States was a young country and was trying to make a statement for itself. Mann believed that education would have been that...