Education Reforms in America

Education is a powerful tool in any democratic and successful state. It is a fulcrum of the socio-economic and political wellbeing of any society. The aim of education reforms was to nurture the society of independent minds and knowledgeable citizens who bring some positive civil changes anticipated by the society. The educational reforms in the early 19^th century, therefore, refer to the changes embraced in the U.S. between the 1800s and 1850s. The aim was to improve the education standards as well as to advance the educaiton to the underprivileged groups. The reforms were fronted by the likes of John Dewey, Maria Montessori, and Horace Mann.

Mann, for example, was responsible for the provision of free education at public schools for all the young people. This policy was evident in the state Massachusetts and was also emulated by the state New York. Montessori, on the other hand, focused on the child education, while Dewey dealt with the education reforms focusing on human values (or rights). The aforesaid reforms also epitomized the emergence of both the Protestant and the Catholic religion at public schools. This was evident when some church based parochial schools were established with a view of advancing religious cultures and values at those schools.

The Western America in the 1840s

This region has such states that spread to the western part of the Mississippi river. If I were a pioneer resident in Kentucky, Illinois, or Tennessee in late 1840s, I would have not moved to the west. The reason is that it was plagued later with some rampant territorial wars between the American and Mexican troops. Many Americans even died due to this. The only fortune that could have led to my relocation to that place was the availability of gold, but later this led to the internal rivalry. Some of the notable features I would expect to find at that time could include: plain land, salt flats, the Rocky Mountains, and the poorly developed lands. Earth quakes and volcanic eruptions occasionally occurred, hence, the situation was unstable. The rest features are the diverse races, for example, the Mexicans, Chinese, Black Americans, Europeans, and the Hispanics.