Horace Mann (May 4, 1796August 2, 1859) was an American educational reformer, slavery
abolitionist
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The British ...
and
Whig politician known for his commitment to promoting
public education. In 1848, after public service as Secretary of the
Massachusetts State Board of Education The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) is the state education agency responsible for interpreting and implementing laws relevant to public education in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Public education in the Commonw ...
, Mann was elected to the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
(1848–1853). From September 1852 to his death, he served as President of
Antioch College
Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its ...
.
About Mann's intellectual progressivism, the historian
Ellwood P. Cubberley said:
Arguing that universal public education was the best way to turn unruly American children into disciplined, judicious
republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
citizens, Mann won widespread approval from modernizers, especially in the
Whig Party, for building public schools. Most
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
s adopted a version of the system Mann established in Massachusetts, especially the program for
normal school
A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...
s to train professional teachers.
Educational historians credit Horace Mann, along with
Henry Barnard
Henry Barnard (January 24, 1811 – July 5, 1900) was an American educationalist and reformer.
Biography
He was born in Hartford, Connecticut on January 24, 1811 and attended Wilbraham & Monson Academy. He graduated from Yale University in 1 ...
and
Catharine Beecher
Catharine Esther Beecher (September 6, 1800 – May 12, 1878) was an American educator known for her forthright opinions on female education as well as her vehement support of the many benefits of the incorporation of kindergarten into children's ...
as one of the major advocates of the
Common School A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretary ...
Movement.
Early career
Education
Horace Mann was born in
Franklin, Massachusetts.
His father was a farmer without much money. From ten years of age to twenty, he had no more than six weeks' schooling during any year,
but he made use of the
Franklin Public Library
Franklin Public Library is the first and oldest public lending library in continuous existence in the United States. It was founded in 1790 in Franklin, Massachusetts with a donation of books from Benjamin Franklin. It is currently located at 118 M ...
, the first public library in America. At the age of twenty, he enrolled at
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
and graduated in three years as valedictorian (1819). The theme of his oration was "The Progressive Character of the Human Race."
He learned Greek and Latin from
Samuel Barrett
Samuel Alfred Barrett (1879 in Conway, Alaska – 1965) was an anthropologist and linguist who studied Native American peoples.
Education
Barrett received all three of his degrees from UC Berkeley—B.S. in 1905, M.S. in 1906, and a doctorate i ...
, who later became a famous
Unitarian minister. He then studied law for a short time in
Wrentham, Massachusetts
Wrentham ( ) is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,178 at the 2020 census.
History
In 1660, five men from Dedham were sent to explore the lakes near George Indian's wigwam and to report back to the ...
and was a tutor of Latin and Greek (1820–1822) and a librarian (1821–1823) at Brown. During 1822, he also studied at
Litchfield Law School
The Litchfield Law School of Litchfield, Connecticut, was the first independent law school established in America for reading law. Founded and led by lawyer Tapping Reeve, the proprietary school was unaffiliated with any college or university. (Wh ...
and, in 1823, was admitted to the bar in
Dedham, Massachusetts.
Massachusetts legislature
Mann was elected to the Massachusetts legislature in 1827, and in that role was active in the interests of education, public charities, and laws for the suppression of
alcoholic drink
An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The c ...
s and lotteries. He established an asylum in
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
, and in 1833 was chairman of its board of trustees. Mann continued to be returned to the legislature as a representative from Dedham until his removal to
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
in 1833. While in the legislature he was a member and part of the time chairman of the committee for the revision of the state statutes, and a large number of salutary provisions were incorporated into the code at his suggestion. After their enactment, he was appointed one of the editors of the work and prepared its marginal notes and its references to judicial decisions. He was elected to the
Massachusetts State Senate
The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...
from Boston in 1835 and was its president in 1836–1837. As a member of the Senate, he spent time as the majority leader, and aimed his focus at infrastructure, funding the construction of railroads and canals.
Personal life
In 1830, Mann married Charlotte Messer, who was the daughter of the president of Brown University. She died two years later on August 1, 1832, and he never fully recovered from the intense grief and shock that accompanied her death.
In 1843, he married
Mary Tyler Peabody. Afterward, the couple accompanied
Samuel Gridley Howe
Samuel Gridley Howe (November 10, 1801 – January 9, 1876) was an American physician, abolitionist, and advocate of education for the blind. He organized and was the first director of the Perkins Institution. In 1824 he had gone to Greece to ...
and
Julia Ward Howe
Julia Ward Howe (; May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was an American author and poet, known for writing the " Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the original 1870 pacifist Mother's Day Proclamation. She was also an advocate for abolitionism ...
on a dual honeymoon to Europe. They then purchased a home in
West Newton, Massachusetts at the corner of Chestnut and Highland Streets. Horace and Mary had three sons:
Horace Mann Jr.
Horace Mann Jr. (February 25, 1844 – 1868) was an American Botany, botanist, son of Horace Mann. His mother was one of the famous Peabody Sisters Mary Tyler Peabody Mann. Mentored in botany by Henry David Thoreau, whom he accompanied on an expe ...
, George Combe Mann, and Benjamin Pickman Mann.
Mann was the great-grandson of
Samuel Man
Samuel Man (July 6, 1647 – May 22, 1719) was an early teacher in Dedham, Massachusetts and minister in Wrentham, Massachusetts.
Personal life
Man was born on July 6, 1647 to William and Mary Man of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Man was an only ...
.
Education reform
It was not until he was appointed Secretary in 1837 of the newly created
Massachusetts Board of Education The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) is the state education agency responsible for interpreting and implementing laws relevant to public education in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Public education in the Commonw ...
that he began the work which was to make him one of America's most influential educational reformers. Upon starting his duties, he withdrew from all other professional or business engagements as well as politics.
As Secretary of Education, Mann held teachers' conventions, delivered numerous lectures and addresses, carried on an extensive correspondence, and introduced numerous reforms. Mann persuaded his fellow modernizers, especially those in the
Whig Party, to legislate tax-supported elementary public education in their states and to feminize the teaching force. Most northern states adopted one version or another of the system he established in Massachusetts, especially the program for "
normal schools
A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...
" to train professional teachers.
Mann traveled to every School in the state so he could physically examine each school ground. He planned and inaugurated the Massachusetts
normal school
A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...
system in
Lexington (which shortly thereafter moved to Framingham),
Barre
Barre or Barré may refer to:
* Barre (name) or Barré, a surname and given name
Places United States
* Barre, Massachusetts, a New England town
** Barre (CDP), Massachusetts, the central village in the town
* Barre, New York, a town
* Barre (ci ...
(which shortly thereafter moved to Westfield) and
Bridgewater, and began preparing a series of annual reports, which had a wide circulation and were considered as being "among the best expositions, if, indeed, they are not the very best ones, of the practical benefits of a common school education both to the individual and to the state".
[Hinsdale (1898).] By his advocacy of the disuse of
corporal punishment in school discipline, he was involved in a controversy with some of the Boston teachers that resulted in the adoption of his views.
In 1838, he founded and edited ''The Common School Journal''. In this journal, Mann targeted the public school and its problems. His six main principles were:
# the public should no longer remain ignorant;
# that such education should be paid for, controlled, and sustained by an interested public;
# that this education will be best provided in schools that embrace children from a variety of backgrounds;
# that this education must be
non-sectarian
Nonsectarian institutions are Secularity, secular institutions or other organizations not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group.
Academic sphere
Examples of US universities that identify themselves as being nonsectarian i ...
;
# that this education must be taught using the tenets of a free society; and
# that education should be provided by well-trained, professional teachers.
Under the auspices of the board, but at his own expense, he went to Europe in 1843 to visit schools, especially in
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
, and his seventh annual report, published after his return, embodied the results of his tour. Many editions of this report were printed, not only in Massachusetts but in other states, in some cases by private individuals and in others by legislatures; several editions were issued in England.
Mann hoped that by bringing all children of all classes together, they could have a common learning experience. This would also allow the less fortunate to advance in the social scale and education would "equalize the conditions of men." Moreover, it was viewed also as a road to social advancement by the early labor movement and as a goal of having common schools. Mann also suggested that having schools would help those students who did not have appropriate discipline in the home. Building a person's character was just as important as reading, writing, and arithmetic. Instilling values such as obedience to authority, promptness in attendance, and organizing the time according to bell ringing helped students prepare for future employment.
Mann faced some resistance from parents who did not want to give up the moral education to teachers and bureaucrats. The normal schools trained mostly women, giving them new career opportunities as teachers. Mann believed that women were better suited for teaching, regardless of their status as a mother, and used his position to push for a
feminization
Feminization most commonly refers to:
* Feminization (biology), the hormonally induced development of female sexual characteristics
* Feminization (activity), a sexual or lifestyle practice where a person assumes a female role
* Feminization (soci ...
of the profession.
The practical result of Mann's work was a revolution in the approach used in the common school system of Massachusetts, which in turn influenced the direction of other states. In carrying out his work, Mann met with bitter opposition by some Boston schoolmasters who strongly disapproved of his innovative pedagogical ideas, and by various religious sectarians, who contended against the exclusion of all sectarian instruction from the schools.
Secular nature
As the ''Old Deluder Satan Act'' and other 17th-century
Massachusetts School Laws attest, early education in Massachusetts had a clear religious intent. However, by the time of Mann's leadership in education, various developments (including a vibrant populist Protestant faith and increased religious diversity) fostered a secular school system with a religiously passive stance.
While Mann affirmed that "our Public Schools are not Theological Seminaries" and that they were "debarred by law from inculcating the peculiar and distinctive doctrines of any one religious denomination amongst us ... or all that is essential to religion or salvation," he assured those who objected to this secular nature that "our system earnestly inculcates all Christian morals; it founds its morals based on religion; it welcomes the religion of the Bible; and, in receiving the Bible, it allows it to do what it is allowed to do in no other system—to speak for itself. But here it stops, not because it claims to have compassed all truth; but because it disclaims to act as an umpire between hostile religious opinions."
Mann stated that this position resulted in a near-universal use of the Bible in the schools of Massachusetts and that this served as an argument against the assertion by some that Christianity was excluded from his schools, or that they were anti-Christian. A devotee of the pseudoscience of
phrenology, Mann believed education could eliminate or reduce human failings and compensate for any biological flaws.
Mann also once stated that "it may not be easy theoretically, to draw the line between those views of religious truth and of Christian faith which is common to all, and may, therefore, with propriety be inculcated in schools, and those which, being peculiar to individual sects, are therefore by law excluded; still it is believed that no practical difficulty occurs in the conduct of our schools in this regard."
Rather than sanctioning a particular church as was often the norm in many states, the Legislature proscribed books "calculated to favor the tenets of any particular set of Christians."
Reading instruction
Like many nineteenth century reformers, Horace Mann believed that "children would find it far more interesting and pleasurable to memorize words and read short sentences and stories without having to bother to learn the names of the letters".
According to
Diane Ravitch
Diane Silvers Ravitch (born July 1, 1938) is a historian of education, an educational policy analyst, and a research professor at New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Previously, she was a U.S. ...
, he condemned the alphabet method, claiming that it was "repulsive and soul-deadening to children".
He described the letters of the alphabet as "skeleton-shaped, bloodless, ghostly apparitions".
To him, teaching the alphabet was entirely illogical: "When we wish to give a child the idea of a new animal, we do not present successively the different parts of it,—an eye, an ear, the nose, the mouth, the body, or a leg: but we present a whole animal, as one object".
Mann believed that "children's earliest books should teach whole words, skipping the alphabet and the sounds of the letters",
though he may have been confused between "the alphabet method of learning letters through words and a word method, now called the
look-and-say method, or learning to read through saying the word as a whole".
U.S. Congress
In the spring of 1848 he was elected to the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
as a
Whig to fill the vacancy caused by the death of
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States S ...
. His first speech in that role was in advocacy of its right and duty to exclude
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
from the territories, and in a letter, in December of that year, he said: "I think the country is to experience serious times. Interference with slavery will excite civil commotion in the South. But it is best to interfere. Now is the time to see whether the Union is a rope of sand or a band of steel." Again he said: "I really think if we insist upon passing the
Wilmot proviso
The Wilmot Proviso was an unsuccessful 1846 proposal in the United States Congress to ban slavery in territory acquired from Mexico in the Mexican–American War. The conflict over the Wilmot Proviso was one of the major events leading to the ...
for the territories that the south—a part of them—will rebel; but I would pass it, rebellion or not. I consider no evil so great as the extension of slavery."
During the first session, he volunteered as counsel for
Drayton and Sayres, who were indicted for stealing 76 slaves in the
District of Columbia
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, and at the trial was engaged for 21 successive days in their defense. In 1850, he was engaged in a controversy with
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison ...
concerning the extension of slavery and the
Fugitive Slave Law
The fugitive slave laws were laws passed by the United States Congress in 1793 and 1850 to provide for the return of enslaved people who escaped from one state into another state or territory. The idea of the fugitive slave law was derived from ...
, calling Webster's support for the
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850 that defused a political confrontation between slave and free states on the status of territories acquired in the Mexican–Am ...
a "vile catastrophe", and comparing him to "Lucifer descending from Heaven". Mann was defeated by a single vote at the ensuing nominating convention by Webster's supporters; but, on appealing to the people as an independent anti-slavery candidate, he was re-elected, serving from April 1848 until March 1853.
Abolitionism
Mann was a staunch opponent of slavery as a member of Congress; in a written address to an 1852 "Convention of the Colored Freemen of Ohio" he stated "
at slavery is to continue always, it would be the grossest atheism to affirm. A belief in the existence of a just Governor of the Universe, includes a belief in the final and utter abolition of slavery." In the same address he opposed plans to forcibly deport freedmen from the United States to other nations: "The idea of forcibly expelling the American born negro from the place of his birth and residence, and driving him out of the country against his will, is as abhorrent to my notions of justice and equality, as it can be to those of anyone. The next most cruel thing to kidnapping a race of men, forcing them from their home and dooming them to slavery in a foreign land, would be the seizure of the descendants of that race, and driving them from the new home they had acquired. So great a crime as this second expatriation would be, could hardly be conceived unless by a mind that had prepared itself for it by participating in the commission of the first." Mann considered there to be three legitimate methods by which the Africans in captivity in the US could emancipate themselves, including, as a last resort, that "such as our revolutionary fathers adopted against Great Britain
..not only with the justification but with the approval of the civilized world. For this there are two conditions: a sufficient degree of oppression to authorize an appeal to force, and a chance, on the part of the oppressed, of bettering their condition. The measure of the first condition is already full - heaped up - running over. The second condition will be fulfilled, either when the slaves believe they can obtain their freedom by force, or when they are so elevated and enlarged in their moral conceptions as to appreciate that glorious supplication of
Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736June 6, 1799) was an American attorney, planter, politician and orator known for declaring to the Second Virginia Convention (1775): " Give me liberty, or give me death!" A Founding Father, he served as the first an ...
, 'Give me liberty or give me death!'" Mann's preferred method for the self-emancipation of the slaves was that free blacks should voluntarily form all-black communities of their own - either in
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
or in another Caribbean nation - or perhaps in the American West - in which men like
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...
,
Henry Bibb
Henry Walton Bibb (May 10, 1815 in Shelby County, Kentucky – August 1,1854 in Windsor) was an American author and abolitionist who was born a slave. Bibb told his life story in his narrative ''The Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb: An American ...
and
Henry Box Brown
Henry Box Brown (c. 1815 – June 15, 1897) was a 19th-century Virginia slave who escaped to freedom at the age of 33 by arranging to have himself mailed in a wooden crate in 1849 to abolitionists in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
For a short tim ...
"instead of making speeches might be making laws. Instead of commanding the types of a newspaper press
..might be commanding armies and navies" and could more effectively organize the liberation of their enslaved brethren in the U.S. from these strongholds.
Leadership of Antioch College and last years
![HMann](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/HMann.jpg)
In September 1852, he was nominated for
governor of Massachusetts
The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces.
Massachuset ...
by the
Free Soil Party
The Free Soil Party was a short-lived coalition political party in the United States active from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was largely focused on the single issue of opposing the expansion of slavery int ...
, and the same day was chosen president of the newly established
Antioch College
Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its ...
at
Yellow Springs, Ohio
Yellow Springs is a village in Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,697 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is home to Antioch College.
History
The area of the village had long b ...
. Failing in the election for governor, he accepted the presidency of the college, which he continued until his death. There he taught economics, philosophy, and theology; he was popular with students and with lay audiences across the Midwest who attended his lectures promoting public schools. Mann also employed the first female faculty member to be paid on an equal basis with her male colleagues,
Rebecca Pennell Rebecca Mann Pennell, later Rebecca Mann Dean (1821-1890Dorr, Laurence J., 'Botanical Libraries and Herbaria in North America. 4. The Samuel Botsford Buckley – Rebecca Mann Dean Mystery', ''Taxon'' 46:4 (1997), pp. 661-687) was an American educato ...
, his niece. His commencement message to the class of 1859 was to "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity".
Antioch College was founded by the
Christian Connexion
The Christian Connection was a Christian movement in the United States of America that developed in several places during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, composed of members who withdrew from other Christian denominations. It was influe ...
, which later withdrew its financial support causing the college to struggle for many years with meager financial resources due to sectarian infighting. Mann himself was charged with nonadherence to sectarianism because, previously a
Congregationalist by upbringing, he joined the
Unitarian Church.
Mann was also drawn to Antioch because it was a coeducational institution, among the first in the country to teach men and women in the same classes, Mann and his wife had conflicts with female students, however, who came to Yellow Springs in search of greater equality. The young women chafed at restrictions on their behavior, and wanted to meet with men in literary societies, which Mann and his wife opposed.
He collapsed shortly after the 1859 commencement and died that summer of
typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...
. Antioch historian Robert Straker wrote that Mann had been "crucified by crusading sectarians."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...
lamented "what seems the fatal waste of labor and life at Antioch." Mann's wife, who wrote in anguish that "the blood of martyrdom waters the spot," later disinterred his body from Yellow Springs. He is buried in the
North Burial Ground
The North Burial Ground is a cemetery in Providence, Rhode Island dating to 1700, the first public cemetery in Providence. It is located north of downtown Providence, bounded by North Main Street, Branch Avenue, the Moshassuck River, and Ceme ...
in
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
, next to his first wife, Charlotte Messer Mann. (Charlotte Messer Mann was the daughter of Asa Messer, an early president of
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
.)
Legacy
Many historians treat Mann as one of the most important leaders of education reform in the antebellum period.
Reading instruction
Mann's endorsement of "word method" for reading instruction made a lasting impression on other reformers of the period, and "by 1890 the alphabet method had virtually died out".
Francis Parker and
John Dewey
John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the f ...
used the "word method" as one of the features of the
"Progressive" system of education. As Nancy Millichap notes, "Despite the enthusiasm of educators for their new methods of teaching, the illiteracy rate remained high. Among American soldiers enlisted in World War I, 24.9 percent proved unable to read or write, and during World War II approximately the same percentage of British servicemen
ho were taught using the same method
Ho (or the transliterations He or Heo) may refer to:
People Language and ethnicity
* Ho people, an ethnic group of India
** Ho language, a tribal language in India
* Hani people, or Ho people, an ethnic group in China, Laos and Vietnam
* Hiri Mo ...
were found to be similarly handicapped. In 1940, one-third of high school students were incapable of
mastering reading and writing well enough to profit from textbook instruction, and one half of the adult population in the United States was
functionally illiterate
Functional illiteracy consists of reading and writing skills that are inadequate "to manage daily living and employment tasks that require reading skills beyond a basic level". Those who read and write only in a language other than the predominant ...
".
[
The backlash against " word method" culminated in a 1955 book '']Why Johnny Can't Read
''Why Johnny Can't Read—And What You Can Do About It'' is a 1955 book-length exposé on American reading education by Rudolf Flesch. It was an immediate bestseller for 37 weeks and became an educational cause célèbre.
In this book, the aut ...
'' by Rudolf Flesch
Rudolf Franz Flesch (8 May 1911 – 5 October 1986) was an Austrian-born naturalized American writer (noted for his book '' Why Johnny Can't Read''), and also a readability expert and writing consultant who was a vigorous proponent of plain Eng ...
, in which he condemned this method for "treating children as if they were dogs" and recommended returning to teaching phonics
Phonics is a method for teaching people how to read and write an alphabetic language (such as English, Arabic or Russian). It is done by demonstrating the relationship between the sounds of the spoken language (phonemes), and the letters or g ...
. Nevertheless, the "ill-informed, ineffective reading instruction" remains the norm in American colleges of education and, accordingly, in American elementary schools.
Commemoration
Many places around the world are named after Mann. Among them are more than 50 public schools in the United States.
Horace Mann's statue stands in front of the Massachusetts State House along with that of Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison ...
.
At Antioch College, a monument carries his quote, which has been recently adopted as the college motto: "Be Ashamed to Die Until You Have Won Some Victory for Humanity."
The University of Northern Colorado
The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado. The university was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has officially changed ...
named the gates to their campus in his dedication, a gift of the Class of 1910.
The Springfield, Illinois-based Illinois Education Association Mutual Insurance Company, was renamed in honor of Mann in 1950 as the Horace Mann Educators Corporation
Horace Mann is an Illinois-based Automobile insurance, auto, Property insurance, property, Supplemental insurance, supplemental and life insurance, as well as financial services company that focuses on Retirement annuity, retirement annuities ...
.
Pittsburg State University
Pittsburg State University (Pitt State or PSU) is a public university in Pittsburg, Kansas. It enrolls approximately 7,400 students (6,000 undergraduates and 1,400 graduate students) and is a member of the Kansas Board of Regents.
History
...
in Pittsburg, Kansas, has a building named Horace Mann School. It currently houses the Student Welcoming Center.
In , public charter schools that are authorized by local school districts are known as Horace Mann charters.
Brown University Graduate School
The Brown University Graduate School is the graduate school of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. The school offers 51 doctoral programs and 33 master's programs.
History
While originally established in 1850 under university president ...
awards an annual ''Horace Mann Medal'' to one of its alumni.
Schools
* Horace Mann Academy, Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Anaheim, California
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Bakersfield, California
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Bayonne, New Jersey
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Binghamton, New York
Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School (closed), Canton, Ohio
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Cherry Hill, New Jersey
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Duncan, Oklahoma
Duncan is a city and county seat of Stephens County, Oklahoma, United States. Its population was 22,310 at the 2020 census. Its main claim to fame is as the birthplace of the Halliburton Corporation. Erle P. Halliburton established the New Meth ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Fargo, North Dakota
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Hominy, Oklahoma
Hominy ( Osage: ''Hą́mąðį'' "night-walker") is a city in Osage County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,565 at the 2010 census, a 38 percent increase over the figure of 2,584 recorded in 2000.
The town was the home of an all-Na ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Huntington, Indiana
Huntington, known as the "Lime City", is the largest city in and the county seat of Huntington County, Indiana, United States. It is in Huntington and Union townships. It is also part of Fort Wayne, Indiana's metropolitan area. The population wa ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Indiana, Pennsylvania
Indiana is a borough in and the county seat of Indiana County in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The population was 13,564 at the 2020 census, and since 2013 has been part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. After being a long time par ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Lakewood, Ohio
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Melrose, Massachusetts
* Horace Mann Junior High School, Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
* Horace Mann Junior High School, Wichita, Kansas
Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, North Bergen, New Jersey
North Bergen is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 63,361. The township was founded in 1843. It was much diminished in territory by a ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Oak Park, Illinois
Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago. It is the 29th-most populous municipality in Illinois with a population of 54,583 as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. Oak Park was first settled in 1835 and later incorporated in ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Ogden, Utah
Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Ottumwa, Iowa
Ottumwa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,529 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census. Located in the state's southeastern section, the city is split into northern and southern halves b ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School (closed), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Rapid City, South Dakota
Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Redmond, Washington
* Horace Mann Elementary (now Lincoln K-8) School, Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota, the city is the home and birthplace of the renowned Mayo Clinic.
Acco ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, San Jose, California
San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Sedalia, Missouri
Sedalia is a city located approximately south of the Missouri River and, as the county seat of Pettis County, Missouri, United States, it is the principal city of the Sedalia Micropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city had ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Springfield, Ohio
* Horace Mann Elementary School, St Joseph, Missouri
St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includ ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, West Allis, Wisconsin
West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 60,325 at the 2020 census.
History
The name West Allis derives from Edward P. Allis, ...
* Horace Mann Elementary School, Woodward, Oklahoma
Woodward is a city in and the county seat of Woodward County, Oklahoma, Woodward County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the largest city in a nine-county area. The population was 11,975 at the United States Census, 2020, United States Census.
T ...
* Horace Mann Lab School, Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, Missouri
Maryville is a city and county seat of Nodaway County, Missouri, United States. Located in the "Missouri Point" region, As of the 2020 census, the city population was 10,633. Maryville is home to Northwest Missouri State University and Northwes ...
* Horace Mann Middle School, Abilene, Texas
* Horace Mann Middle School, Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...
* Horace Mann Junior School, Baytown, Texas
* Horace Mann Middle School, Brandon, Florida
Brandon is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 114,626 at the 2020 ...
* Horace Mann Middle School, Charleston, West Virginia
* Horace Mann Middle School, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
* Horace Mann Middle School, El Portal, Florida
El Portal is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The name is derived from the Spanish term for "the gate", after two wooden gates that once stood as a gateway to the village. El Portal was originally annexed into the city of Mi ...
* Horace Mann Middle School, Franklin, Massachusetts
* Horace Mann Middle School, Neenah, Wisconsin
Neenah () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, in the north central United States. It is situated on the banks of Lake Winnebago, Little Lake Butte des Morts, and the Fox River, approximately forty miles (60 km) southwest of Green ...
* Horace Mann Middle School, North Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin
North Fond du Lac is a village in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2020 census. Despite the name, North Fond du Lac is actually located northwest of Fond du Lac, as Lake Winnebago is directly north o ...
* Horace Mann Middle School, San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
* Horace Mann Middle School, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Sheboygan () is a city in and the county seat of Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 49,929 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a populati ...
* Horace Mann Middle School, Wausau, Wisconsin
Wausau ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States. The Wisconsin River divides the city into east and west. The city's suburbs include Schofield, Weston, Mosinee, Maine, Rib Mountain, Kronenwetter, an ...
* Horace Mann High School, North Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
North Fond du Lac is a village in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2020 census. Despite the name, North Fond du Lac is actually located northwest of Fond du Lac, as Lake Winnebago is directly north o ...
* Horace Mann School
, motto_translation = Great is the truth and it prevails
, address = 231 West 246th Street
, city = The Bronx
, state = New York
, zipcode = 10471
, countr ...
, Bronx, New York
The Bronx () is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state, state of New York (state), New York. It is south of Westchester County, New York, Westchester County; north and east of the ...
* Horace Mann School, Amesbury, Massachusetts
Amesbury is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the left bank of the Merrimack River near its mouth, upstream from Salisbury and across the river from Newburyport and West Newbury. The population was 17,366 at the 202 ...
* Horace Mann School, Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
* Horace Mann School, Salem, Massachusetts
Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...
* Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
The Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (HMS) is the oldest public day school for the Deaf and hard of hearing in the United States. Located in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, the Horace Mann School is a member of Boston Public ...
, Allston, Massachusetts
* Mann Arts and Science Magnet Middle School
Horace Mann Arts and Sciences Magnet Middle School is a magnet middle school located in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. It is part of the Little Rock School District. The school was named after educational reformer and Congressman Horace Mann ...
, Little Rock, Arkansas
(The Little Rock, The "Little Rock")
, government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager
, leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor
, leader_name = Frank Scott Jr.
, leader_ ...
* Mann Elementary School, Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
* Mann Elementary School, St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
* Mann Elementary School, Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...
College and University Buildings
* Horace Mann Auditorium, Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts
Bridgewater is a town located in Plymouth County, in the state of Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the town's population was 28,633. Bridgewater is located approximately south of Boston and approximately 35 miles east ...
* Horace Mann Building, East Central University
East Central University (ECU or East Central) is a public university in Ada, Oklahoma. It is part of Oklahoma's Regional University System. Beyond its flagship campus in Ada, the university has courses available in McAlester, Shawnee, and Duran ...
in Ada, Oklahoma
Ada is a city in and the county seat of Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 16,481 at the 2020 United States Census. The city was named for Ada Reed, the daughter of an early settler, and was inc ...
* Horace Mann Building, Pittsburg State University
Pittsburg State University (Pitt State or PSU) is a public university in Pittsburg, Kansas. It enrolls approximately 7,400 students (6,000 undergraduates and 1,400 graduate students) and is a member of the Kansas Board of Regents.
History
...
, Pittsburg, Kansas
* Horace Mann Center, Westfield State University
Westfield State University (Westfield State) is a public university in Westfield, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1839 by Horace Mann as the first public co-educational college in America without barrier to race, gender, or economic class.
Ra ...
in Westfield, Massachusetts
Westfield is a city in Hampden County, in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts, United States. Westfield was first settled by Europeans in 1660. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population w ...
* Horace Mann Hall, Teachers College, Columbia University
Teachers College, Columbia University (TC), is the graduate school of education, health, and psychology of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, it has served as one of the official faculties and ...
, New York City
*Horace Mann Hall, Framingham State University
Framingham State University (Framingham State or FSU) is a public university in Framingham, Massachusetts. It offers undergraduate programs as well as graduate programs, including MBA, MEd, and MS.
History
As the first secretary of the newly ...
, Framingham, Massachusetts
Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a pop ...
* Horace Mann Hall, Rhode Island College, Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
* Horace Mann House, Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
, Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
Emulation of the Prussian education system in the United States
American educators were fascinated by German educational trends. In 1818, John Griscom
John Griscom (September 27, 1774 – February 26, 1852) was an early American lecturer and educator, and one of the first American educators to teach chemistry.
Biography
John Griscom was born in Hancock's Bridge, New Jersey on September 27, 17 ...
gave a favorable report of Prussian education. Beginning in 1830, English translations were made of French philosopher Victor Cousin
Victor Cousin (; 28 November 179214 January 1867) was a French philosopher. He was the founder of "eclecticism", a briefly influential school of French philosophy that combined elements of German idealism and Scottish Common Sense Realism. As ...
's work, "Report on the State of Public Education in Prussia." Calvin E. Stowe, Henry Barnard
Henry Barnard (January 24, 1811 – July 5, 1900) was an American educationalist and reformer.
Biography
He was born in Hartford, Connecticut on January 24, 1811 and attended Wilbraham & Monson Academy. He graduated from Yale University in 1 ...
, Horace Mann, George Bancroft
George Bancroft (October 3, 1800 – January 17, 1891) was an American historian, statesman and Democratic politician who was prominent in promoting secondary education both in his home state of Massachusetts and at the national and internati ...
and Joseph Cogswell
Joseph Green Cogswell (September 27, 1786 – November 26, 1871) was an American librarian, bibliographer and an innovative educator.
Education
Born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, Cogswell received a grammar school education in Ipswich, and attend ...
all had a vigorous interest in German education. In 1843, Mann traveled to Germany to investigate how the educational process worked. Mann focused on two aspects of Prussian education upon his return to the United States: the creation of Normal Schools
A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...
(although unlike Prussia, Mann advocated for a female-only teaching force) and well-appointed, safe, and well-resourced schoolhouses.
Works
*
A Few Thoughts for a Young Man
' (Boston, 1850)
* ''Slavery: Letters and Speeches'' (1851)
* ''Powers and Duties of Woman'' (1853)
* ''Sermons'' (1861)
* ''Life and Complete Works of Horace Mann'' (2 vols., Cambridge, 1869)
*
Thoughts Selected from the Writings of Horace Mann
' (1869)
* ''The Case for Public Schools''
* Mann, Horace.
The Life and Works of Horace Mann
', with an introduction by his second wife, Mary Peabody Mann
Mary Tyler Mann ( Peabody; November 16, 1806 in Cambridgeport, Massachusetts – February 11, 1887 in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts) was a teacher, author, and mother. She was the wife of Horace Mann, American education reformer and politician.
...
.
References
Notes
*
Further reading
* Cremin, Lawrence A. ''American Education: The National Experience'' (1982).
* Curti, Merle. ''The Social Ideas of American Educators'' (1935) pp. 101–38
* Downs, R. B. ''Horace Mann: Champion of the Public Schools'' (1974)
* Finkelstein, Barbara. "Perfecting Childhood: Horace Mann and the Origins of Public Education in the United States," ''Biography,'' Winter 1990, Vol. 13#1 pp. 6–20
* Hinsdale, Burke A. ''Horace Mann and the Common School Revival in the United States'' (New York, 1898), in the ''Great Educators'' serie
online
* Hubbell, George A. ''Life of Horace Mann, Educator, Patriot and Reformer'' (Philadelphia, 1910)
* Messerli, Jonathan. ''Horace Mann; a biography'' (1972)
* Peterson, Paul E. ''Saving schools: From Horace Mann to Virtual Learning'' (Harvard University Press, 2010)
* Taylor, Bob Pepperman. ''Horace Mann's Troubling Legacy: The Education of Democratic Citizens'' (University Press of Kansas, 2010).
External links
* Mission & History. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.antiochcollege.edu/about/mission_and_history.html
The Horace Mann Center
at Westfield State College
Westfield State University (Westfield State) is a public university in Westfield, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1839 by Horace Mann as the first public co-educational college in America without barrier to race, gender, or economic class.
Ran ...
*
*
*Th
Louise Hall Tharp papers, 1949–1953
are located in the Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department, Boston, MA.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mann, Horace
1796 births
1859 deaths
19th-century American politicians
Activists from Ohio
American abolitionists
American educational theorists
American Unitarians
Antioch College
Brown University alumni
Burials at North Burying Ground (Providence)
Democratic education
Hall of Fame for Great Americans inductees
Litchfield Law School alumni
Massachusetts Free Soilers
Massachusetts state senators
Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
People from Franklin, Massachusetts
People from Yellow Springs, Ohio
Presidents of Antioch College
Presidents of the Massachusetts Senate
Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts
Educators from Dedham, Massachusetts
19th-century American educators