It was the 1840's, but yes, that was important. Now if we could only improve some of the public schools in the inner-city and rural areas, we'd be all set.

Yeah, it WAS technically Puritans and Congregationalists who started public education in three (3) of the 1600s colonies, but their exclusionary goals were ultimately abandoned when people of different countries (and "faiths") began arriving here and started staying away from the "God factories" in droves (even back in the "good ol' days", they knew crap when they were hip-deep in it). By the 18th century, private schools were the standard, but only in heavily-populated areas and only for rich white males. Henry Barnard and Horace Mann took the humanist concept that education should be beneficial to everyone and worked big-time for common-school reforms (which ended up free at the elementary level for ALL American children by the close of the 19th century). And who pissed on the parade and told us it was raining? Yep, the Hypocrites, who fussed, fumed, and eventually orphaned their own "morality" (Romans 13:1-2 is the nontheist's gift that keeps on giving) and got a 1925 Supreme Court victory for their opposition to public schooling. They weren't so lucky in the 1954 BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF TOPEKA ruling that ended legalized segregation in public schools (even THAT edict took close to 30 years to get the church's hands out of). Revisionists could stand some remedial brush-ups on American history, especially when it comes to the "context" they're so insistent upon.

Another well-intended idea that has become a many headed dragon in need of slaying. At least this one, unlike the UN, actually bore fruit for the United States over an extended period of time.

Public education was instituted by Christians, do a little research. Try as they might Humanist only dupe the unread and uninformed with their shameless misrepresentations of history.