Jefferson's Vision for Education, 1760-1845

Thomas Jefferson’s ideas on education evolved over sixty years – from his adolescent years at The College of William and Mary, through the Revolution and election of 1800, to his death in 1826. In 1776, he saw public education as the cornerstone of Virginia’s revolution and hoped it would help destroy aristocratic and denominational privilege, create opportunities based on merit, foster humanism and encourage the political awareness necessary for a republican society. Though limited to whit...