Educated Citizenry

A concept Kyle tags via educated citizenry in his notes on the John Quincy Adams biography. He attaches it to a highlight on the founders’ theory of Education: “The men who were to found the United States understood that while a nation of masters and servants needed only to elevate the one and abase the other, a nation of free men needed to cultivate the gifts of all its citizens.” The idea is that self-government depends on broadly cultivated, educated citizens — distinguishing a republic of free men from a hierarchical society that need only train an elite.

Context: “An educated citizenry” is a recurring theme in early American political thought (Jefferson, the Adamses, and others) holding that a functioning republic requires widespread public education, since free citizens must be capable of governing themselves and judging their leaders.

Where this appears

• John Quincy Adams — tagged on the highlight that a “nation of free men needed to cultivate the gifts of all its citizens,” linking education to the founders’ theory of self-government