Jefferson believed the nation needed public schools scattered around, for all male citizens to receive free education. By 1789, the first law was passed in Massachusetts to reaffirm the colonial laws by which towns were obligated to support a school. This law was ignored. Private schools were opened only to those who could afford to pay them. In the middle states religious groups opened most schools. Not many schools or institutions were opened to the nonwealthy people. The women, blacks, and Indians were not able to go

The Connecticut school master and lawyer Noah Webster, said that the American schoolboy should be educated as a nationalist. "As soon as he opens his lips", Webster wrote, " he should rehearse the history of his own country". Every citizen was to be educated to some degree. For the less wealthy people, to also have some education. Jefferson believed that the nation really needed to have schools. He wanted for the poor and rich to have some kind of Education, not only for themselves, but also for the nation's future.

Jefferson strongly believed that the nation's future depended, in great part, on the nation's education. He said in 1782, "Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves, therefore, are its only safe depositories. And to render even them safe, their minds must be improved to a certain degree". He believed that in order for people to trust the people who are in charge of their government, they need to have some kind of education, to be

Some common words found in the essay are:
African Americans, History Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson, Webster American, Native Americans, Republican Mother, jefferson believed, Education Jefferson, Word Count, nation's future, education jefferson, private schools, jefferson believed nation, believed nation,
Approximate Word count = 678
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)