After the American Revolution(1775-1783),the founders the United Stat

argued that education was essential for the prosperity and survival of the new natio

Thomas Jefferson was the first American leader to suggest creating a system of free schoo

for all persons that would be publicly supported through taxe

In 1779 he proposed an education pla

that would have supported free schooling for all children in the state of Virginia for three year

The best students from this group would continue in school at pubic expense through adolescenc

The most advanced of these students would go on to publicly funded college

Jefferson's proposal was never performed and his idea of selecting the bes

and brightest students for special advantage failed to gain widespread support.

However,Jfferson's plans for universal educatio

and for publicly funded schools formed the basis of education systems developed in the 19th century