I Am An American Philosopher: Eric Mullis – Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy

https://american-philosophy.org/i-am-an-american-philosopher-interview-series/i-am-an-american-philosopher-eric-mullis/

Mann’s vision

School Is for Everyone

…An essential part of Horace Mann's vision was that public schools should be for everyone and that children of different class backgrounds should learn together. He pushed to draw wealthier students away from private schools, establish "normal schools" to train teachers (primarily women), have the state take over charitable schools and increase taxes to pay for it all.

He largely succeeded. By the early 20th century all states had free primary schools, underwritten by taxpayers, that students were required to attend.

And that's more or less how America became the nation we recognize today. The United States soon boasted one of the world's highest literacy rates among white people. It is hard to imagine how we could have established our industrial and scientific might, welcomed newcomers from all over the world, knit our democracy back together after the Civil War and become a wealthy nation with high living standards without schoolhouses…

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/opinion/us-school-history.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare