Serial: Education in America - The Founders

The Founding Fathers believed whole-heartedly in education. They wanted students to become a learned citizens. They funded every conceivable form of education that existed and believed in school choice. They wanted young citizens who could read and write and had virtue and morality and understood accountability to God. Most of America’s Founders were homeschooled or self-educated, including Thomas Jefferson, widely considered to be the most intelligent among them, with an estimated IQ well into the genius range at 160. America’s Founders knew the critical importance of educating the populace of their new nation. Without proper knowledge, the republic could not survive. But even so, the Founders did not include public education in the U.S. Constitution, nor did they see fit to set up some sort of national system. Instead, they left education to the states and municipalities.