ABSTRACT
Two convictions of the nineteenth century made the education or socialization of the young a pressing concern for every public man and every public institution. The first was that education was too important to be entrusted to informal processes — too important for society to indulge the belief that family solicitude, neighborhood interest, the proximity of the church, or the tutelage of farm or factory work would add up to education. The second conviction of the era was that all youth required formal education. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the Protestant churches had generally opted for only a limited commitment to provide formal education. They did not abandon, but even expanded, their support for institutions of higher education, many of which doubled as seminaries. Up to about 1830 or 1840, the absence of any clear determination in American society to make formal education universally available had permitted Catholics to avoid any forced choices.
