Excerpt from The Development of Free, Schools in the United States: As Illustrated By, Connecticut and Michigan

The schools of Connecticut became free in the last half of the nineteenth century, but to understand the development of such schools it is helpful to consider some conditions of colonial edu cation, and to trace the slow growth of the movement and related movements to the time of the enactment of the free school law of 1868. The colonial period, from 1634 to 1776, a period of one hundred and forty-two years, was a time in which European traditions were transplanted, and also gradually modified. Some very important social changes occurred in Connecticut during this period. The colonists of Connecticut came, for the most part, from Massachusetts and were very similar in character and antecedents to the people of that colony. At New Haven and Hartford, settlements were made which had separate govern ments, and between which a rivalry appeared. The two were united under a royal charter in 1665. The government was similar, in many respects, to that of Massachusetts. At first, the town was the unit of local government. The general control was exercised by the General Court and governor, under the charter and a rather peculiar constitution. The General Court was an elective body, based upon a limited suffrage, having a combination Of legislative, executive, and judicial powers. Religiously, the Connecticut colonists were Puritans. The church and civil government were united in many ways. The early pursuits were, of necessity, hunting and agriculture, but soon a coastwise trade grew up, and primitive manufactures appeared. The times were not peaceful. Indian wars, and the European wars of parent nations brought to the settler of Con necticut a share of the common burdens of the period.

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