Date of Award
1-1-2009
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Organizational Unit
Morgridge College of Education, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
First Advisor
Elinor Katz, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Al Ramirez
Third Advisor
P. Bruce Uhrmacher
Keywords
Education, Influence, Thomas Jefferson
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to take a deeper look at the influence of an important American historical figure, Thomas Jefferson, on the institution of the American Educational System. Thomas Jefferson was involved in many decisions involving the traditions, practices and institutions of many educational establishments of his time period. His writings have had a lasting influence on our society and the world. His words have been incorporated into many different countries' constitutions across the world. It was important to study decisions of the past in order to understand how to make well-educated decisions in the future. Thomas Jefferson's ideas, his involvement in government, his personal morals and his involvement in writing documents have helped in founding our current educational system. Some examples of his beliefs about education were Universial Education, that education was tool used to keep tyranny at bay by having an informed citizenry and for providing for a system that allowed the intellectual elite to excel through a system of public education. They are all major contributing factors to how he made decisions which influenced the American Educational System. Therefore it made a study of that influence relevant. Jefferson and his contemporaries had many thoughts and contributed many ideas towards the founding of our Early American Educational System. Jefferson had a wide base of ideas about various levels and aspects of education. Jefferson's diverse interests in different aspects of education had an influence on various facets of the American educational world. That interest therefore deserved a study to show Jefferson's influence, both positive and negative, on the founding of the American Educational System. The influence of the American thought process on the topic of education is a meaningful addition to the body of work on Jefferson.
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Tory Lynn Richey
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
File Format
application/pdf
Language
en
File Size
124 p.
Recommended Citation
Richey, Tory Lynn, "An Historical Inquiry into Thomas Jefferson's Influence on the American Educational System" (2009). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 909.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/909
Copyright date
2009
Discipline
History of Education