Provision had long been made in New-York by various associations, of different religious denominations, for the education of the poor and indigent children belonging to their respective denominations; but it was not until 1805 that a special body was organized in the city of New-York, who made application to the legislature of this state for an act to incorporate them as a "free school for the education of poor children, who do not belong to, or are not provided for by any religious society." Thirteen trustees were elected under this act, on the first Monday of the ensuing May, with powers to conduct the affairs of the corporation. On convening together, they found that they had undertaken a great task, and encountered an important responsibility; without funds, without teachers, without a house in which to instruct, and without a system of instruction; and that their great reliance was on their own industry, on the liberality of the public, and on the bounty of the constituted authorities. From this humble beginning may be dated the origin of the free school system, for the relief of a most extensive class of human beings. In this society Mr. Clinton was chosen president, and delivered an address to the benefactors and friends of this association, upon the opening of the institution in New-York, in December, 1809. One or two extracts from this address must here suffice. It need scarcely be stated that the plan of instruction suggested by Joseph Lancaster was adopted.

"The trustees of this institution, after due deliberation, did not hesitate to adopt the system of Lancaster, and in carrying it into effect, they derived essential aid from one of their body, who had seen it practised in England, and who had also personal communication with its author. A teacher was also selected who has fully answered every reasonable expectation. He has generally followed the prescribed plan. Wherever he has deviated, he has improved. A more numerous, a better governed school, affording equal facilities to improvement, is not to be found in the United States.

"Provided thus with an excellent system and an able teacher, the school was opened on the sixth of May, 1806, in a small apartment in Bancker-street. This was the first scion of the Lancaster stock engrafted in the United States; and from this humble beginning, in the course of a little more than three years, you will observe the rapidity with which we have ascended.

"When I perceive that many boys in our school have been taught to read and write in two months, who did not before know the alphabet, and that even one has accomplished it in three weeks - when I view all the bearings and tendencies of this system - when I contemplate the habits of order which it forms - the spirit of emulation which it excites - the rapid improvement which it produces - the purity of morals which it inculcates - when I behold the extraordinary union of celerity in instruction, and economy of expense - and when I perceive one great assembly of a thousand children, under the eye of a single teacher, marching with unexampled rapidity, and with perfect discipline, to the goal of knowledge; I confess that I recognise in Lancaster the benefactor of the human race - I consider this system as creating a new era in education, as a blessing sent down from heaven to redeem the poor and distressed of this world from the power and dominion of ignorance.

"Although the merits of this apostle of benevolence have been generally acknowledged in his own country, and he has received the countenance and protection of the first men in Great Britain, yet calumny has lifted up her voice against him, and attempts have been made to rob him of his laurels. Danger to the established church and to government has been apprehended from his endeavours to pour light upon mankind. This insinuation has been abundantly repelled by the tenor of his life - his carefully steering clear in his instructions of any particular creed, and his confining himself to the general truths of christianity. 'I have,' says Lancaster, 'been eight years engaged in the benevolent work of superintending the education of the poor - I have had three thousand children, who owe their education to me, some of whom have left school, and are apprenticed or in place, and are doing well. I have had great influence with both parents and children, among whom there is, nevertheless, no one instance of a convert to my religious profession.' That knowledge is the parent of sedition and insurrection, and that in proportion as the public mind is illuminated, the principles of anarchy are disseminated, is a proposition that can never admit of debate, at least in this country.

"But Lancaster has also been accused of arrogating to himself surreptitious honours, and attempts have been made to transfer the entire merit of his great discovery to Dr. Bell. Whatever he borrowed from that gentleman he has candidly acknowledged. The use of sand, in teaching, undoubtedly came to him through that channel, but it has been practised for ages by the Brahmins, He may also be indebted to Bell for some other improvements, but the vital leading principles of his system, are emphatically an original discovery.

"The origin and progress of beneficial discoveries cannot be too minutely specified; and when their diffusion can only be exceeded by their excellence, we have peculiar reason to congratulate the friends of humanity. This prompt and general encouragement is honourable to our national character, and shows conclusively, that the habits, manners, and opinions of the American people, are favourable to the reception of truth and the propagation of knowledge. And no earthly consideration could induce the benevolent man, to whom we are indebted for what we see this day, to exchange his feelings, if from the obscure mansions of indigence, in which, in all human probability he now is, instilling comfort into the hearts, and infusing knowledge into the mind of the poor, he could hear the voice of a great and enlightened people pronouncing his eulogium, and see this parent seminary, and the establishments which have sprung from its bosom, diffusing light, imparting joy, and dispensing virtue. His tree of knowledge is indeed transplanted to a more fertile soil, and a more congenial clime. It has flourished with uncommon vigour and beauty - its luxuriant and wide-spreading branches afford shelter to all who require it - its ambrosial fragrance fills the land, and its head reaches the heavens!"

It was expressly set forth, in a subsequent address of this society, that they did not intend to interfere with any existing institution; but like gleaners in the wide field of benevolence, they sought such objects only as were left by those who had gone before, or were fellow-labourers with them, in the great work of charity. They considered early instruction, and fixed habits of industry, decency, and order, to be the surest safeguards of virtuous conduct. Nevertheless, some uneasiness existed in the minds of certain of the truly devotional as to how far religious instruction was cherished or overlooked. In the Historical Account of the society, published in 1814, this subject is thus adverted to:

"Every person, who was acquainted with these schools, was ready to express his satisfaction with the literary improvement of the children; but there were some, who thought that sufficient care had not been bestowed in the communication of instruction specifically religious. A concern of such high importance had not, however, been overlooked by the trustees; and they had pursued such measures in regard to it, as they considered to be most expedient. The board was composed of persons of almost every religious denomination; men who were attached to their respective creeds, and who would not fail, on suitable occasions, to recommend an acquaintance to them. But, in these schools, they had studiously avoided the inculcation of the peculiar tenets of any religious society. From the commencement of the institution, they had directed that the holy scriptures should be read daily in the schools; and it was thought that the tender minds of the children could not fail to be impressed with the sublime precepts and the beautiful morality of these excellent volumes. To satisfy the wishes of every well-meaning person, it was however determined, that the schools should be suspended on the afternoon of every third day of the week (Tuesday), and that this time should be exclusively devoted to the religious instruction of the children. An association of more than fifty ladies, of distinguished consideration in society, and belonging to the different religious denominations in the city, volunteered their services in the work, and the accordingly meet at the schools to examine the children in their respective catechisms on the day appointed for that purpose. The parents and guardians designated the denomination in whose tenets they wished their children to be educated; and it may not be uninteresting to state the number belonging to each, at the time when this measure was adopted. They were found to belong to the various religious societies as follows, and the numbers are not materially different at the present period.

"It was also determined, in relation to this subject, that the children should assemble at their respective schools on the morning of every Sunday, or first day of the week, and proceed under the care of a monitor, to the place of public worship to which they respectively belonged.

"The two schools will contain about eight hundred scholars. That number is generally complete; and they are educated at an annual expense of about three dollars each. About four hundred children are admitted, and the same number discharged, every year.

"Nine years have now elapsed since the society commenced its labours, extending the blessings of education to the children of the indigent in this metropolis. Every succeeding year has afforded them the gratification of announcing to the public the uniform advancement of the interests of the institution, and of its great and rapidly increasing utility; and the trustees have also had the satisfaction of seeing the benefits of the same system extended, either in whole or in part, to several other schools in this city."

As connected with the important subject of education, the following extracts from the Public School Society, embracing six hundred of the most influential and respectable of our citizens, will be read with the liveliest interest. The contrast which it exhibits of the condition of instruction in the city of New-York as compared with the state at large, is lamentable indeed. When we consider the vast efforts that have been made to improve the moral and intellectual culture of the rising generation, the causes of this condition if unravelled will explain much of the difficulty. Let us consider the heterogeneous complexion of our people; and let it be added that New-York probably receives as many emigrants as all the rest of the United States, and of these there is always an over proportion of uneducated persons. The address which the trustees have recently published to their fellow-citizens respecting the extension of the public schools is at once an able and convincing document.

"It is an object of primary importance to ascertain, as nearly as may be, the number of our children within the proper ages for instruction, who are entirely destitute of it. It is impossible with the data we possess, to arrive at a precisely accurate result; but it will be perceived by the following statement, that if we have fallen into an error, it is not that of exaggeration.

"Provision is made by law for ascertaining in all other parts of the state, the number of children between the ages of 5 and 15, and also the whole number annually instructed; and it is much to be regretted that it does not extend to this city. It appears by the Report of the Secretary of State for 1827, that in other parts of the state, the ratio of scholars in the public and other schools to the whole population, was 1 to 5 - 1 to 4 - and 1 to 3; and that these are about the average ratios which prevail throughout the state, with the exception of this city. In this city this ratio is less than 1 to 7, supposing the population to have advanced with the same rapidity since 1825, as in the preceding five years.

"If we adopt for our city the proportion furnished by the above report, and founded upon actual official returns, between the whole population, and the children within the ages above-mentioned, the result will be that we had 45,300 of these children in 1825, when our population was but 166,000. If the increase of our population since 1825 has been in the same ratio as from 1820 to 1825, we must add to this number of children more than 7000, making the whole number 52,300. About 10,000 children are taught at our public and charity schools. It was ascertained by a committee of teachers, about four or five years since, that we had 200 male schools. It is a liberal allowance to suppose the female schools equally numerous. If we add to these numbers 100 schools, and allow 35 scholars to each school, which we are persuaded is an over estimate, we have 17,500 for the private schools.

"We have no means of ascertaining the number of Sunday scholars who go to no other schools. But it is evident that this number cannot be large, because the whole number of scholars in the Sunday schools does not exceed that in the public schools by more than 2000, and because we know that a large portion of Sunday scholars attend private schools.

"From the best inquiries we have been able to make, the number of those scholars who attend no other schools does not exceed one in twenty, or 600 in the whole.

"The result of these estimates is, that we have twenty-four thousand two hundred children, within the ages of 5 and 15, who attend no school whatever.

"A large number of children, principally boys, are taken from school as soon as they arrive at 14, and some even at 12 years of age, to be bound out to service, and others are withdrawn even at ten years of age for other purposes. If we allow one half of the whole number above mentioned to have been withdrawn from school before the age of 15, though perhaps one third would be nearer the truth, the result will be as follows:

"Twelve thousand children, between five and fifteen years of age, entirely destitute of the means of instruction.

"This computation leaves out all those children of tenderer years, who ought to be introduced into infant schools. The density, magnitude, and character of our population, give to this subject a deeper interest here, than it can have elsewhere. The single fact that 20,000 emigrants arrived within our city the past year, presents the subject in a sufficiently striking point of view.

"It is time to pass from this general view to a more particular consideration of the necessity and nature of the reform which is called for. We conceive that our present establishments are altogether inadequate to the wants of the community.

"The money expended upon public schools in Boston, in the year 1826, amounted to upwards of $54,000, exclusive of all expenses of building. >From the best information we can obtain, the expenditures of that city, for the same object, during the past year, amounted to $70,000.

"The whole revenue of the Public School Society of New-York, exclusive of about $4,400 received from pay scholars, for the year ending on the first of May last, was less than $20,000. This sum includes all the public moneys expended upon common schools, except $2,155.50 distributed to the Mechanics', the Orphan Asylum, and the Manumission Societies. It would be a waste of time to attempt to strengthen this statement by any comments we could make. We shall hereafter point out those particulars in which we conceive that our plan of public education needs to be enlarged.

"We have already stated, that our present system does not harmonize with the spirit of our public institutions. It is well known that the schools of the society were formerly exclusively 'free schools.' It was thought that a reluctance naturally arising from a general spirit of independence, to receive even instruction as a charity, would exclude many from the benefits of education.

"The removal of this impediment, by receiving compensation from such as choose to make it, has doubtless been attended with very beneficial consequences. Public instruction has been, to a considerable extent, freed from its degrading associations with poverty and charity. Still these consequences have not been so extensive as hoped. About two-thirds only of the whole number admitted into our schools are pay scholars. It is not certain what portion of these would have been excluded if the old system had been continued.

"The more the community is enlightened, the more equally will its burdens be borne. It has not, perhaps, been sufficiently considered by political economists, that national wealth proceeds chiefly from the activity of mind; and must therefore be proportioned to the extent and universality of its developement. There is a striking illustration of this truth, in a lecture not long since delivered by Baron Dupin before one of the Institutes of Paris. It appears by his statement that in some parts of France, those who are educated are 1-10^th, in others 1-20^th, in others only 1-229^th part of the whole population; and that the national revenue of these districts is nearly in corresponding ratios. Nay more, that these proportions are not materially varied by the most striking superiority or inferiority of soil and climate.

"It may be said that we have mistaken the effect for the cause, Wealth and education undoubtedly act and re-act upon each other. But it is certain that there would be little or no capital without education, and that capital derives its power of accumulation from education; which points out its uses, and creates a demand for it.

"If it were necessary to add any thing to these considerations, the trustees might claim the support of all the middling and even wealthier classes of society, on the ground of private interest. The amount of their taxes would be repaid to them fourfold, but the greater cheapness of education, even supposing they were to avail themselves only of the higher schools; and it will doubtless be an object of consideration to some individuals of these classes, that the cheaper education is, the more they can afford to purchase.

"It would be impossible, without going too much into detail, to show how great a saving in the expenses of educating our children would result from large establishments, under a proper superintendence. Suffice it to say, that, as far as experiments have been made, the results have been greater and more satisfactory than could have been expected.

"Is it necessary that the trustees should offer any further apology for proposing that a small portion of the public wealth should be devoted to the great objects of education? We perceive no evidence of a parsimonious spirit in our public councils in regard to the ordinary objects of public revenue. There is no lack of taxation for lighting and guarding our streets - for our alms-house and penitentiaries. These expenditures for these objects, to say nothing of the enormous capital invested in these establishments, amounted in the year 1826 to upwards of $196,000. The expenditures for the same objects during the past year, amounted to $221,000. We might refer to inferior objects for proofs of equal public liberality. In short, whenever revenue is wanted for any purpose deemed important to the comfort or character of the city, it is a matter of course to raise it by tax. We humbly suggest that a similar liberality ought to be shown towards an object inferior to no other."

The salutary influence of this society is now universally felt and admitted; and for these benefits our community admits its obligations mainly to De Witt Clinton, Lindley Murray, jun. John Murray, jun. Thomas Eddy, and William Johnson.

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Transcribed from the original text and html prepared by Bill Carr, last updated 5/22/99.