Throughline: The First Department of Education
Hosted by Rund Abdelfattah and Ramtin Arablouei
Release Date: June 12, 2025

Throughline takes listeners on a historical journey to explore the establishment, challenges, and legacy of the first United States Department of Education. This episode delves deep into the post-Civil War era, examining how education became a battleground for national unity, civil rights, and federal authority.

Introduction: A Nation Rebuilt Through Education

In the aftermath of the Civil War, the United States faced the monumental task of rebuilding not just its infrastructure and economy, but also its societal fabric. Education emerged as a pivotal element in this reconstruction, seen as a means to unify the country, promote civic values, and empower newly freed African Americans. Throughline explores the birth of the first Department of Education, its ambitious goals, and the reasons behind its eventual dissolution.

Part 1: A Stick in the Dirt – Pre-Civil War Education

Before the Civil War, the American education system was highly fragmented. Schools were predominantly one-room institutions run by churches or untrained teachers, focusing on basic reading, writing, and arithmetic. M.K. Lovell, an assistant professor at Penn State University, explains:

"This was a time when education was a lot more fragmentary." [08:47]

The curriculum often centered around the McGuffey Readers, a series of textbooks that emphasized moral stories and civic virtues. Education was viewed not just as a means of personal development but also as a tool for fostering a cohesive civic culture.

The common school movement, spearheaded by reformers like Henry Barnard and Horace Mann, advocated for free public schooling accessible to all children. Their vision aimed to standardize education across states, ensuring uniform curricula, shared textbooks, and consistent teacher requirements.

Part 2: Shame, Shame, Shame – The Push for a Federal Department

The turmoil of the Civil War underscored the importance of education in nation-building. With the abolition of slavery and the beginning of Reconstruction, there was a pressing need to educate both newly freed African Americans and impoverished white Southerners. James Garfield, then a representative from Ohio, championed the creation of a national Department of Education. At [23:51], he asserts:

"Schoolteachers are going to be the ones that are able to rebuild southern culture and rebuild our society in a way that is more cohesive."

The Freedmen's Bureau played a critical role in this initiative, providing resources for education among other services. Literacy became synonymous with freedom and citizenship, as exemplified by Frederick Douglass's journey. Despite oppressive laws aimed at suppressing black education, Douglass self-taught himself to read and write, viewing literacy as his pathway to emancipation:

"From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom." [18:25]

Garfield proposed that the new Department of Education would collect educational statistics, promoting transparency and uniformity without imposing strict federal control. However, this vision was met with resistance. Critics feared federal overreach and the erosion of local control, leading to intense debates in Congress.

Part 3: A Collection of Floating Matters – The Demise of the First Department

Despite initial optimism, the first Department of Education struggled under the leadership of Henry Barnard. Appointed as commissioner, Barnard faced numerous challenges:

• Limited Resources: With a modest budget of $15,000 ([37:00]), Barnard found it difficult to implement meaningful programs.

• Operational Inefficiencies: Frequent absences and disorganized office management led to public criticism.

• Questionable Effectiveness: The department's reports were seen as disjointed and lacking focus, as Senator Thomas Hendricks from Indiana described them [44:12]:

  "It is a compilation and collection together of scraps... a collection together of floating matter."

By July 1868, just a year after its creation, Congress demoted the Department of Education to an office within the Department of the Interior, effectively sidelining its initiatives. Barnard retired in 1870, disillusioned by the department's failures and the political climate.

Legacy: Seeds of Federal Involvement in Education

While the first Department of Education was short-lived, it laid the groundwork for future federal involvement in education. The statistics and reports it generated provided valuable insights into the nation's educational landscape, influencing subsequent policies and reforms.

However, the end of Reconstruction marked a regression in educational equality. Southern states enacted segregation laws and severely limited access to quality education for African Americans, leading to decades of educational disparity.

Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, reflects on the long-term impact:

"The civil War, it is the engine of the creation of the state school system in the south. But the end of reconstruction is also the beginning of this massive, deeply inscribed inequality between what black and white kids receive from these school systems." [47:53]

The episode draws parallels between the historical debates over federal education control and contemporary discussions, highlighting persistent tensions in the American education system.

Conclusion: The Enduring Battle Over Federal Education

Throughline concludes by emphasizing that the debates surrounding the first Department of Education are echoed in today's discussions about the federal government's role in education. From concerns over local vs. federal control to the impact of educational policies on societal cohesion, the episode underscores the enduring complexity of shaping a nation's educational framework.

M.K. Lovell encapsulates the ongoing relevance:

"A lot of this anxiety over the role of the federal government in education is there, regardless of what the agency is doing... it is such a lightning rod." [49:05]

The episode serves as a reminder that the quest to balance federal oversight with local autonomy in education has deep historical roots, shaping the contemporary landscape of American schooling.

*This episode was produced by Rund Abdelfattah, Ramtin Arablouei, and M.K. Lovell, with contributions from historians and educational experts. For more insights into the history of American education and its national implications, tune into Throughline.