Horace Mann and His Contributions to Education Reform by Haily Albrecht

Horace Mann was an American reformer who preferred education.  His ideas greatly advanced the “cause of universal, free, nonsectarian public schools.”  Mann was not only an educator but also a statesman who encouraged women’s rights, abolition, and helped build better facilities for the mentally ill. When Horace was selected to give the local Independence Day address in Dedham, he outlined the basic principles that argued that education and religious liberty are the revenues by which American freedoms are conserved. While Mann was in the Massachusetts legislature in Dedham he was able to gain state support for a railroad that would run between Boston and the Hudson River and was also able to get support to building a mental asylum in Worcester. After Mann served three years in the state senate he became the Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education in 1837. While holding the position of Secretary, Mann “increased the funding available to schools, improved the preparation and support of teachers, and advocated for compassionate discipline.” Mann wanted to teach children in public schools to be taught common Christianity. He did not believe children should be taught doctrines that were contradictory among men. His career as Secretary of the Board of Education ended in 1848. Without Horace Mann today’s society might not have public schools that are supported by taxes, long school years, well-trained teachers throughout Massachusetts, and required attendance for children.