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raised by taxes, partly state and partly local. As to both kinds of school-taxes, the regulations of the thirtyeight states differ widely in both form and substance. The system of instruction is by no means in the same stage of development in all the states, and divergent views prevail on the question as to how far the care of popular education ought to be, or can be, recognized as an immediate task of the state. And, therefore, the size of the school-budget - whether that of the state alone or that of the state and the municipalities together — varies greatly per capita. As a rule the former slave-states, especially the planter-states, are more or less in arrear in this respect. If we but consider that at the outbreak of the civil war part of these states had no general common school system and that the slave-children were not allowed to be educated, we must cordially recognize the progress they have made,- and made despite their complete economic ruin and despite the radical social revolution of the last twenty years. Some of them, indeed, have gone so far as to establish in their constitutions the principle of compulsory attendance at school or rather of compulsory education,― a principle not yet adopted by many northern and western states. The conclusion must not be drawn, however, from the establishment of the principle, that in these particular states all children now enjoy instruction. In the southern states, the actual condition of affairs makes. it in many ways impossible to give all children the opportunity of an education, much less to compel them to take it. Compulsory education, moreover, has not succeeded hitherto even where such an opportunity has been offered every child. This is due in a great degree to the fact. that public opinion has not yet declared itself in favor of compulsory education as emphatically as it has demanded for many years that the state, in connection with the

local authorities, should see to it that every child had the chance of receiving a common school education, free of cost.

Common Schools. The demand of public opinion on the whole does not extend further than these, although there are everywhere public free schools of a higher grade. Some of them are supported by the municipalities; some of them by a municipality and the state together. The expression "common schools" as a rule means only the elementary or primary schools. Common schools of a higher grade are called grammar or high schools. Nevertheless there is no "American common school system," although Americans themselves very frequently use this expression. Not only are there different names in the different states, but the same names sometimes mean more or less different things. Each state, however, has its common school system, bearing here or there its special stamp. A general characterization, which should give a very correct picture of the organization of the school system of each state, is therefore impossible. The following statements indicate only what seems to emerge from the multiplicity of details as a general type-modified in this or that way, sometimes more and sometimes less.

Organization of the School System. The state does not support the common schools, but it contributes a considerable part of the cost of their support. The means placed by the state at the disposal of the public schools the proceeds of taxes directly or indirectly levied for school purposes and the interest and other proceeds of the school fundare distributed according to fixed, but not always the same, rules. In general the distribution is based either wholly or in part upon the number of school children. The rich communities, therefore, have to pay

much more in taxes to the school fund of the state than they receive from it. They must not only bear the expenses of their own schools, but they must also help to support the schools of the poorer communities. All local boards, however, must raise part of the cost of their schools by local taxation. In fact, they are not always left free to decide how heavily they will burden themselves for this purpose. No maximum is set, but the law prescribes a minimum, by fixing what proportion the local contribution shall bear to that of the state. As far as spending the moneys is concerned, the local boards have a pretty free hand. As the state does not fully support the common schools, it does not claim their sole management. It takes in hand the general direction and superintendence, but does not withdraw the school system. from the domain of self-government. The highest school authority in most states is a board of education. Its members are sometimes elected by the people or the legislature; sometimes appointed by the governor; sometimes they are certain officials who ex officio make up the board; sometimes they are chosen by a combination, in one way or another, of the different methods. The immediate head of the system of education is a single of ficial, generally called superintendent or commissioner of public instruction. He also is elected in the one or the other way or is appointed by the governor. He is always a member of the board where a board exists. Besides this, there are commissioners. They are either state or county officials, but in either case are usually elected by the people. The immediate management of the schools is left, however, to the local school boards, school commissioners or trustees. These are generally elected by the voting population of the community. They engage and discharge the teachers. The unit in the organ

ization of the school system is the "school district" or the township. The district system has lost ground of late as against the township system, because experience has shown that decentralization has many dubious results if it passes beyond certain limits. With the development of the system of public instruction the tendency towards somewhat greater centralization has gone hand in hand. In fact, the improvement of the system and the growth of the state's control and direction are to no small extent exactly identical.

Exclusion of Religious Instruction in the Common Schools. No state gives the churches any footing whatever in the common schools. Every church and every congregation is left to take such care as it sees fit of the religious instruction of the children belonging to it. Such instruction is usually given in the Sunday schools. These are entirely independent of the state as well as of the community. Religious exercises in the common schools are restricted to the reading of a chapter in the Bible. Even this has been done away with here and there, because the Catholics claimed that they were wronged by the use of a Protestant translation of the Bible; the Jews protested against the use of the New Testament, and the Freethinkers objected to everything which professed to be the word of God and divine revelation. These claims, protests and objections have been recognized without reservation as just by many positive Christians. Some famous Protestant clergymen were among the earliest and most earnest advocates of the doctrine that religion, so far as it took the shape of dogma, was to be absolutely excluded from the common schools. The most vigorous impetus given to the attack against the former practice of beginning the school session with more or less prolonged devotional exercises was

due to the Catholic clergy. Hitherto, however, the results have been diametrically opposed to their real views. They complained of a Protestant translation of the Bible, but when Bible reading ceased they lamented still more the banishment of God from the schools, and demanded that the Catholics be given their share of the school funds so that they could care for the instruction of their children in the way demanded by their consciences and their religious convictions. So far they have been unable to carry this through anywhere. Its ultimate consequences would be the distribution of the whole school fund among the different churches and the replacing of the complete secularization of the common schools with its exact opposite. But the battle over this question question which reaches the deepest roots of popular government in America - is by no means ended.2

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Normal Schools. It was only in relatively recent times that the states began to make any effort to educate capable common school teachers. These efforts were incidentally caused by Dr. Julius, whom the Prussian government had sent to the United States to study the prison system. Dr. Charles Brooks, a clergyman of Massachu

1 For one of the most interesting and significant episodes of this struggle see my Constitutional History, IV., 91.

2 President Grant, in his message of December 7, 1875, recommended that a constitutional amendment should be submitted to the states for ratification, "making it the duty of each of the several states to establish and forever maintain full public schools, adequate to the education of all the children in rudimentary branches, within their respective limits, irrespective of sex, color, birth-place or religion; forbidding the teaching in said schools of religious, atheistic or pagan tenets, and prohibiting the granting of any school fund or school taxes, or any part thereof, either by legislative, municipal or other authority, for the benefit or in aid, directly or indirectly, of any religious sect or denomination." Congress did not act upon the recommendation.