reforms.

State Superintendent of Schools in Connecticut.-But the clientèle that Barnard had built up in Connecticut continued his reforms and constructive work after his departure, and improved upon them. In 1851, they even succeeded in having him recalled virtually to his old duties. He was designated as State Superintendent. carried out and When recalled, of Common Schools, as well as Principal of the State extended his Normal School, which had been established through the efforts of his adherents. The state had now learned its error in mingling politics with education, and Barnard was able to carry out his reforms unmolested. Through the normal school he sent out a great body of trained teachers. He revised the school code, checked the power of the 'school societies,' consolidated and simplified the organization and administration of public education, made a more equitable distribution of the school fund, and encouraged local taxation. But his most distinctive work, as might be expected, was on the literary side. He prepared a valuable series of documents upon foreign education, normal schools, methods of teaching, school architecture, and other topics, and a long report upon The History of Legislation in Connecticut Respecting Common Schools up to 1838.

Barnard's American Journal of Education. It was, too, during the last days of his Connecticut superintendency that Henry Barnard suggested the establishment of a national journal of education. He first broached the matter to the 'American Association for the Advancement of Education' at its meeting in Washington, December, 1854. But the association soon found itself unable to pursue this enterprise for lack of financial Published at support, and in May of the next year Barnard began pense,

his own ex

large volumes

special treatises,

the publication of the American Journal of Education at his own expense. It was at first planned to run the journal for five years only, but, although the work was somewhat interrupted upon occasions by other duties, it continued for more than a generation, until at length in thirty-one thirty-one large octavo volumes, averaging about eight and fifty-two hundred pages each, had been issued. In addition, fifty-two special treatises reprinted from articles in the journal brought the material together in a connected way. Besides giving nearly all his time to editing this magnum opus, Barnard sank his entire fortune of $50,000 in its publication. This great treasury of material includes every phase of the history of education from the earliest times down into the latter half of the nineteenth century. It furnishes accounts of all contemporaneous systems in Europe and America, descriptions of institutions for the professional training of teachers, and essays upon courses of study for colleges and technical schools, the education of defectives and delinquents, physical education, school architecture, great educators, and a large variety of other themes. While it is always most reliable in its treatises upon foreign education, of even greater value is its practical grasp of educational life in America from the beginning. It contains the greatest collection of interesting monographs upon the development of ideals and organization in the various states, and gives the most complete description in literature of the educational life of a nation.

accounts of educational history and systems, and other themes.

First United States Commissioner of Education.In 1867 Barnard was appointed the first United States Commissioner of Education. This office he had been constantly trying to have established ever since he had

found, as Secretary of the Connecticut Board, how absolutely lacking the federal government was in school statistics and documents. He hoped that, through the agency of the government, facilities might be secured to collect and publish trustworthy educational statistics, and to issue a library of independent treatises. The bureau was not created for many years, and then through the immediate initiative of another, but when Barnard was called to the commissionership, he organized the office practically upon the lines he had previously suggested. He suspended his Journal and used the product While in office, of his investigations in the annual reports of the office. Journal and He started that searching inquiry into the administration, management, and instruction of institutions of every grade, and into all educational societies, school funds, legislation, architecture, documents, and benefactions that has since been maintained by the Bureau of Education. However, within three years a change in politics brought a new incumbent into the commissionership, and Barnard gave his literary efforts once more to his beloved Journal.

suspended his

embodied in

vestigations in

his reports.

marked him as

sentative of the

Value of Barnard's Educational Collections.-Hence, Barnard's real life work may be considered the collection of a great educational compendium. By temperament, native ability, and habit, he proved himself well fitted This life work to be the leading representative of the literary side of leading reprethe awakening. Through his work American education awakening. was, in its period of greatest development, granted the opportunity of looking beyond the partial and local results of the first half century of national life. It was enabled to modify and adapt to its own uses the educational theories, practices, and organizations of the leading

were most

England.

civilized peoples, and to bring together for a comparative view sections and states that were widely separated. Barnard's American Journal of Education was not intended to be a universal encyclopædia of education, but often includes a condensation of important works or a presentation of highly scientific methods and profound philosophic systems in popular form. It was not possible, either, to classify and work out a connected and complete historical account, when there were no reliable records or collections of materials in existence. It was necessary that some one should first gather the information from newspapers, pamphlets, memorials, monographs, and plans, and publish it as it was found. In this way he accomplished a more valuable work than if he had published a systematic history of education in the United States.

Educational Development in New England since the Revival. This great storehouse of information published by Barnard and the virile efforts of Mann and other practical leaders were but prominent evidences of The 'revival' the progress that was at the time sweeping over the was general, but its results entire country. The educational awakening of 1835-1860 striking in New was general and proved one of the most fruitful in history. Its influence was felt in every state, and it led to the third period of American education, which has been characterized by the expansion of public schools and state educational systems. During this period new ideals of democracy have come to be felt in American education, and a rapid advance has taken place in the evolution of that unique product, the American public school. In describing this development, we may turn first to New England.

in universal

In Massachusetts Horace Mann has been followed in the central administration by a succession of seven scholarly and experienced educators, who believed as firmly as he that all stages of education below the college Development should be open at public expense without let or hindrance since then in to the richest and poorest child alike. Since the revival Massachusetts the state has seen a steady growth of sentiment for uni- education and improved versal education and improved schooling, and never schooling. again has such an upheaval of the educational strata been necessary. The income of the state school fund and additional appropriations have been steadily increased, their apportionment among the towns has been rendered more equitable from time to time, and an effort has constantly been made to distribute them in such a way as to encourage local effort and coöperation. The school term has been lengthened to ten months and the average attendance of pupils to seven years. The improvements in school buildings, sanitation, and equipment have steadily advanced. The district system died hard, and Death of disnot until 1882 was it altogether forced out of existence.

Most of the academies, too, which proved such a hindrance to the development of public secondary education, gradually died or were merged in the public system

trict system.

as high schools. By means of state aid, it has been pos- Growth of high schools, supersible since 1903 for the smallest towns to afford a high intendents, school training for their children at public expense. Supervision has also become universal during the past quarter century. Springfield first introduced a superintendent of schools in 1841, Gloucester in 1850, Boston in 1851, and the other cities much later, but since 1888, through increasing state aid and the combination of