local areas permission to build public schools should they so choose. Nonetheless, public elementary and secondary schools, and even public colleges, were founded during the period 1790-1830. It was not until the 1830's, however, that public schools in the United States were established on a broad scale.

By 1830 other countries, Prussia in particular, were in the process of building up national strength through a system of public schools. In 1831 the Frenchman, Victor Cousin, was sent to Prussia to observe the organization of schools. His report on Prussian schools was widely circulated both in France and in the United States. On June 28, 1833, the Guizot Law was passed in France. It is regarded as a legislative milestone in the development of the French educational system.

Guizot was the first Minister of National Education under the regime (July Monarchy) which came to power in 1830. He has been characterized as a Protestant historian who was opposed to universal suffrage but in favor of rule by the middle class." In his memoirs he stated the purpose of the 1833 law as follows: 12

The permanent existence of schools and the means of meeting their material needs were thus insured, independent of the intelligence or eagerness of the people destined to benefit from them, and the central power would never be without weapons against their lack of will power or their apathy.

Guizot envisaged a public school in every district, well-paid and wellhoused teachers, and a teacher training school in each of the Départements of France.

The law of 1833 did not establish compulsory education but required each commune to establish a public elementary school, to provide the school building, and to pay the teachers. In addition, the larger towns and cities were to establish higher elementary schools which offered a measure of educational opportunity beyond the elementary school in the form of vocational preparation for commerce, agriculture, or industry. All these schools were to be supported in part by fees charged the students, though the very poor were to be admitted free. Moreover, a tax to raise additional revenue was to be levied by the council of the commune, and, if necessary, by the council of the département (a unit of government similar to a county, but larger than a community). If not so levied, these taxes were to be instituted by royal decree, and the national government was to grant funds to make up any deficiencies.

To supply teachers for the public schools, the law of 1833 authorized each département to establish a normal school to train teachers.

11 Maurois, André. A History of France. New York: Straus and Cudahy, 1956. p. 387. 12 Thabault, Roger. "Fiscal Management in France." Yearbook of Education 1956. London: Evans Bros. Ltd., n.d. p. 370. (quoted from F. Levy Guizot. Memoirs pour Servir à l'Histoire de Mon Temps).

The issuing of licenses to teach in public schools and the appointment of teachers were taken over by the civil authorities. Private schools were allowed to continue but their teachers had to be certified by the mayor of the commune, as well as by the bishop of the Church.

The religious emphasis in public elementary schools was not entirely absent, and the local priest was a member of the communal council which controlled and supervised the teacher; but where parents objected, a child was not required to have religious instruction. Free, secular public schools were not established until 1882, about the same time that compulsory education was instituted.

During the period 1830 to 1848, the number of schools, public and private, increased from 30,000 to 62,000 and enrollments grew from 1,950,000 to 3,530,000. By the end of the period, 72 teacher training schools were in operation. This expansion of educational enterprise was facilitated by the general prosperity which prevailed." Illiteracy among men, as shown by military recruits, declined from 50 to 33 percent. On the other hand, the entire appropriation for public education "on the eve of the Revolution of 1848 was a mere twelfth of the subsidy of public worship." 14 Moreover, the law of 1833, while seemingly requiring the establishment of schools, left the financial arrangements somewhat vague, and communities tended to vary in the extent to which schools were provided. Those established were mostly for boys.15

Classes frequently were large, sometimes as many as 400 pupils in a school having only four teachers. The teaching method often consisted of taking and memorizing dictation from the teacher. Men of high caliber were not attracted to teaching by the low salaries which the government had established.16 Education was neither free nor compulsory at the end of the July Monarchy in 1848, nor was it entirely free of religious control. On the other hand, a sizeable system of public schools had developed under stimulus from the national government.

1848-1870

During the Revolution of 1848 many elementary school teachers displayed a sympathy for democracy and for increased opportunity for the masses. Others asserted that elementary education should be free, public and compulsory. The Catholic Church at this point was hopeful only that it might secure what it called "freedom of education," i.e., the right for its schools to exist. One authority reasons

13 Debiesse, op. cit., p. 19.

14 Fox, op. cit., p. 68.

15 France.

Ministère de l'Education Nationale, l'Institut Pédagogique National. Encyclopédie Pratique de l'Education en France. Paris: 1960. p. 96-97.

16 Peterson A.D. C. A Hundred Years of Education. London: Gerald Duckworth and Company, 1952.

p. 16.

that the honoring of this request was in doubt until "the desperate insurrection of the June days" when under the threat of class warfare the government decided that "the stabilizing influence of Church training" was needed.17

Louis Napoleon had been elected president of the Second Republic by universal suffrage which was newly established in 1848. The eligible voters had increased from 250,000 to 9,000,000 under this change and the power of the Catholics was thereby strengthened. Louis Napoleon sought to appease the Catholics first by organizing an expedition on behalf of the Pope against Mazzini's Roman Republic. In the field of education there followed the Falloux Law of 1850, which led Montalembert to say, "We must have our own Rome expedition, here at home." 18

Under the Falloux Law bishops were made members of the committee which appointed the heads (rectors) of each of the major administrative units for education, which were called academies. Moreover, the bishops were given prominent places on the councils in each of the academies, and it became easier for members of the clergy to teach in public schools. At the same time, liberal teachers were hunted down and accused of being revolutionaries.

The law of 1850 made no significant improvement in elementary education. In 1851 there were 800,000 children of elementary school age not attending any school.19 The law of 1850 did have a significant effect on secondary education. After the French Revolution, private secondary schools had received little legal recognition or aid from the government. Under the law of 1850, however, any French citizen could open a private school provided he was 25, had taught 5 years, and had the baccalauréat certificate or equivalent diploma. Moreover, communes and departments could give financial aid to private schools. Bishops of the Catholic Church were free in their dioceses to open private schools under their sole direction, except for a limited amount of inspection by the government.20

The Falloux Law intensified the conflict between Church and State. For more than half a century to follow small French communities were split, with the priest as symbolic head of one side and the village public school teacher as head of the other.

When Louis Napoleon became emperor in 1852, liberal teachers were persecuted further. Private and religious schools were urged to compete with public schools, and normal schools were put under close surveillance to prevent them from spawning liberal ideas.21 It had even

17 Fox, op. cit., p. 69.

18 Maurois, op. cit., p. 414.

19 Deblesse, op. cit., p. 20.

Encyclopédie Pratique de l'Education en France, op. cit., p. 21-22.

21 Butts, op. cit., p. 355.

been suggested that the bishops should appoint all public school teachers, but this measure was too extreme, and the job was left to the heads (prefects) of local governmental units.22 The timetable for the elementary schools (for boys) of the city of Paris, in 1852, reserved 6 hours for religion out of a school week of 33 hours.23

In order to maintain his position of control, liberal ideas were suppressed by Louis Napoleon through such devices as regulation of the press and dissolution of many workingmen's associations. In addition, the national government prescribed the curriculum of the schools and kept close watch over classroom teaching to avoid the dissemination of liberal ideas.24

Near the end of his reign Louis Napoleon lost support from all sides and vacillated in his policy. Aroused by Garibaldi's attacks on the Pope, the French clerics called for another expedition to Rome and for a purge of French teaching personnel.25 What in fact happened in 1867 was the passage of the Duruy Law, which stimulated attendance at public schools.

Duruy, as Minister of National Education, had hoped to make public education free and compulsory but achieved neither aim. His law of April 10, 1867, did stimulate school attendance by the aid it gave to poor children. According to the law, all budget restrictions on support of education were to be eliminated, with education free for needy children. Moreover, communes wishing to do so were authorized to raise money to provide free public education, and communes of 500 or more inhabitants were required to establish public elementary schools for girls.2

26

With the overthrow of Louis Napoleon and the rise of the Third Republic in 1870, public education came into its own in France, but not without a struggle, which extended into the 20th century. Attempts to establish a public school system were bitterly resisted by the Church. The struggle which ensued was not a clear-cut religious matter, since most of the people on both sides were Catholics. It is true that some of the outstanding leaders of the public school movement, such as Guizot and Ferry, were Protestants, but no changes could have been made without considerable support from the Catholic populace. There were forces at work which made it unlikely that France would continue to neglect the education of large numbers of her people, or to leave that education under the control of the Church.

Maurois, op. cit., p. 414-415.

"Réglement pour les Ecoles Communales Laiques de Garcons de Ville de Paris" reprinted in Arnold, Matthew. The Popular Education of France. London: Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts, 1861. p. 261. "Ergang, Robert. Europe since Waterloo. p. 135.

Maurois, op. cit., p. 436.

Debiesse, op. cit., p. 20.

Boston: D. C. Heath and Company, 1954.

1870-1940

Some authorities have singled out nationalism as the most important force behind the building of a public school system in France in the 19th century. Certainly it helps to account for the centralized form which public education assumed.27 Napoleon I was following in the tradition of such strong monarchs as Louis XIII and Louis XIV when he reestablished strong central government at the beginning of the 19th century.

Such public schools as were established were characterized as "godless" by the Catholic Church. On the other hand, leaders of the Revolution and leaders of the more liberal regimes of the 19th century looked upon the Church as hostile to liberal political ideas, and upon church schools as one source of clerical and anti-Republican ideas. Liberal ideas of the 18th century were again gaining currency in France. The rights of the individual, and of the child particularly, were being proclaimed, including the right to develop latent potentialities. Gradually came the movement to provide education for all.

The new Republic demanded citizens who could read and write and think. Freedom to think and freedom from dogmatism in teaching were in order. Fortunately, the general prosperity prevailing in France from the middle of the 19th century insured the necessary financial backing for a widespread system of education. Under Louis Napoleon, railroads had tripled their mileage, and canals were built. The lower classes secured more jobs as industry expanded 100 fold, and agricultural production increased 10 fold. Child labor was no longer so essential to the economy, and many more children were free to attend school.

Even so, the Third Republic had a difficult time in establishing public schools. In fact, the pattern of conservative reaction seen under the Second Republic reappeared in the early stages of the Third Republic, which seemed "sufficiently frightened by the threat of Revolution-the Commune-to seek the support of the clergy in the inculcation of conservative virtues in the population through education.” 28 State support of church schools was continued and the clergy was given an important place in the national council, which was the main advisory body for public education. Similarly in higher education, the right to grant degrees was extended to private institutions, and immediately four Catholic universities were founded.

Not till the end of the 1870's did defenders of the Republic begin to push universal education. There were already many elementary schools with a sizeable enrollment, though attendance was erratic and often of short duration. More important from the point of view

See Butts, op. cit., p. 353 and Mallinson, Vernon. An Introduction to the Study of Comparative Education. New York: The MacMillan Co., 1957. p. 39.

Fox, op. cit., p. 70.