My Country – The Land Ordinance of 1785 On May 20, 1785, the Continental Congress passed a law providing for the surveying and selling of public lands. It provided that Lot 16 of every township should be reserved for the maintenance of public schools. Over the course of our history (up until the writing of An …
My Country – Public Education and the Rate Bill As our country developed the public education system, it brought over a practice used in England. A rate bill was used to supplement school revenues. It amounted to an assessment on the parents for each child in school. In New York, the fee was 25 cents …