The American Colonies Were Founded Chiefly By Englishmen Who Came To
America For A Variety Of Reasons. Some Of These Were Economic And
Political, But The Most Important Of Their Reasons Was The Desire To
Practice Their Religious Convictions With Greater Freedom Than Was
Permitted At Home. Apart From The State Religion, However, All The
Colonists Were Animated By A Love For English Institutions Which They
Transplanted To The New World, And Among These Institutions Were The
Grammar School And The College. Wherever The Reformation Had Been
Chiefly A Religious Rather Than A Political And Ecclesiastical
Movement, The Interest In Education And The Effect Upon It Were Direct
And Immediate. This Was True Where Calvinism Prevailed, As In The
Netherlands, Scotland, And Among The Puritans In England. Hence It Is
Natural To Find That The First Effective Movements In America Toward
The Establishment Of Educational Institutions, Both Elementary And
Higher, Should Have Taken Place In New England.
