What passed for education for the vast majority of people was an ability to read a little. What passed for learning (other than classical languages and Bible studies) was pretty much laughable and wouldn't get you very far today. As far as true learning or culture went there was very little of it in colonial america or after the revolution until the 1800s. While this may be true, it is limited to the "modern" definition of education - formal schooling. And no, lack of such knowledge wouldn't get you far today. (If such formal schooling actually helps in the first place, today.)
However, consider what the colonials' life was like. As a whole - and esp. away from the "civilized" east coast - mere survival was the priority, not esoterical discussions of music or philosophy.
They didn't have time to sit around in a school for 18 years. Finding food, building shelters, keeping up a house, having and taking care of children (most of which died in the first couple of years), and all the other chores required to stay alive, were much more important than wasting time and effort in a school. Plus, schools weren't all that available in the first place.
Yet these "uneducated" folks were knowledgeable (ie, learned) about the world around them and how to survive in it. They had many crafts and skills that are mostly lost today. While they may not get far in our world, very few of us could manage in their world at all!
You won't get any argument about what you posted wrt to life in early America. However, that was not the point of this article or my responses. Telling the truth about our ancestors achievements such as the ability to survive under harsh and unforgiving conditions is important just as important as not telling untruths. Untruths such as they were paragons if virtue, and learning when they clearly were not. The general lack of formal education does not denigrate the achievements of the era rather it makes them even more incredible.
IMHO the Constitution of the United States is the most important political document ever created. Its creation within a nation of limited literacy and education is amazing.
You won't get any argument about what you posted wrt to life in early America. However, that was not the point of this article or my responses. Telling the truth about our ancestors achievements such as the ability to survive under harsh and unforgiving conditions is important just as important as not telling untruths. Untruths such as they were paragons if virtue, and learning when they clearly were not. The general lack of formal education does not denigrate the achievements of the era rather it makes them even more incredible.
IMHO the Constitution of the United States is the most important political document ever created. Its creation within a nation of limited literacy and education is amazing.
You won't get any argument about what you posted wrt to life in early America. However, that was not the point of this article or my responses. Telling the truth about our ancestors achievements such as the ability to survive under harsh and unforgiving conditions is important just as important as not telling untruths. Untruths such as they were paragons if virtue, and learning when they clearly were not. The general lack of formal education does not denigrate the achievements of the era rather it makes them even more incredible.
IMHO the Constitution of the United States is the most important political document ever created. Its creation within a nation of limited literacy and education is amazing.