Education in America has changed and progressed over the centuries along with its people. The primary goals of education have changed dramatically from the colonial age to today. In the American colonies, the primary goal of schools was to teach children to be responsible and God-fearing adults. Religion was a focal point of the educational system of early America. It was a focal point in their personal, everyday lives. As time has progressed, less religion has been integrated into the public schooling of American children. Today, in the public school system, it is virtually nonexistent. A major turning point in the American educational system stemmed from the American Revolution. The United States government took a greater role in the public school systems after it gained its independence from Great Britain. The schools were no longer driven by the church, but by the government, in order to provide the best education for the most people.
             Colonial America was governed by English principles and theologies. The government had control over the education of the colonists. Much of this authority ultimately came from the king of England and English parliament. "Thus the colonial legislatures of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire enacted laws requiring parents to see to it that their children learned to read, learned the capital laws, knew the orthodox catechism, and became skilled in a trade." (Butts, 3) This control over the school systems was natural to the colonists, whose lives were rooted in their Calvinist religious beliefs.
             The English government was concerned about public education and it still had control over the school system. English parliament was the source of governmental authority. However, colonists were ruled locally by legislative assemblies, individual proprietors, or by royal governors. These local leaders were required to receive their authority from the English government. ...