Download or read book Pillars of the Republic written by Carl F. Kaestle and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2011-04-01 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pillars of the Republic is a pioneering study of common-school development in the years before the Civil War. Public acceptance of state school systems, Kaestle argues, was encouraged by the people's commitment to republican government, by their trust in Protestant values, and by the development of capitalism. The author also examines the opposition to the Founding Fathers' educational ideas and shows what effects these had on our school system.