8th graders then were better prepared
Indeed some wonder how the founding fathers in their 20’s and 30’s were wise enough to write the Constitution.
Those who went to college received a liberal arts education grounded in the Great Books, Latin and Greek. Those who studied for the ministry, such as Madison, learned Hebrew so that they could read the Old Testament in the original.
Today you can count on the fingers of one hand the number of colleges with that kind of rigorous liberal arts education.