Horace Mann. Of course, everyone has heard of him. But, in case you haven't. He was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1827 to 1833. He then was elected to the Massachusetts Senate in 1834 and hung out there until 1837.
He was the brother-in-law of Nathaniel Hawthorne. (click here) You'll remember him. He wrote that racy romance novel called, "The Scarlet Letter."
But, Horace was an interesting guy. He served as the Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education. In 1848 he would enter the US House of Representatives.
Today, Horace is called "Father of the Common School Movement."
His Massachusetts model would be adopted all over the country as a method to educate children into responsible citizens.
Oh, yeah. The guy wasn't some 'knee jerk' reformist. His first schools were to educate teachers. Imagine that. Before he could educate children he knew he had to have the teachers to do it.
