[geeks] geeks Digest, Vol 86, Issue 11

[Lionel Peterson]

On Jan 20, 2010, at 4:31 PM, Mike Meredith <very at zonky.org> wrote:

> On Wed, 20 Jan 2010 11:26:41 -0500, Patrick Giagnocavo wrote:
>> Dr. Robert Pasken 300a wrote:
>>> And then we would end up with the majority of the population unable
>>> to read or write. The libertarian/free-market philosophy has been
>>> shown over and over and over again to be a total disaster
>>
>> Can I just ask, how did Tom Paine's book become such a bestseller
>> (Harry Potter sized bestseller when adjusted per-capita) in the late
>> 1700s in an America that did not have taxpayer-funded education?
>
> Didn't it ? A quick skim of the wikipedia article on the history of
> education in the US shows that the first school mentioned ("Boston
> Latin") was a public school, although "not free, and instead were
> supported by tuition or "rate bills."[0]". The US also had the "Land
> Ordinance of 1785" granting land for the establishment of schools -
> which sounds pretty much like government support to me.

Tuition is not tax-payer funded, it is a fee payable by parents of  
children, not contributed to by those who choose to not avail  
themselves of the school...

Was the school compulsory or available?

A land-grant is a one-time gift, not on-going support.

> And just what Thomas Paine book are we talking about anyway ? The most
> popular one I can think of ("The Rights Of Man") was a run-away  
> success
> in _England_ as it was published in _England_, where those who read it
> were taught under the _English_ education system.

Common Sense - it was to be found in most colonial homes before the  
revolution.

Lionel