The Case for Universal Schooling in the Territory
An early local advocate argues that education, not incarceration, is the only path toward ending poverty and crime in the Washington Territory.
There is a distinction between the church system and the American system of education. Of the church systems, the illiterate (over the age of twelve) are thirteen percent of the whole number. The paupers are four and one-tenth percent. The criminals one and one-sixth percent. In the American system of public schools, the illiterate are three and one-half percent, paupers are one and seven-tenths percent, and the criminals three-tenths of one percent. The American system is therefore the better system of the two, approximating the nearest to perfection. Let us instruct our Legislative Assembly to enact a law requiring the attendance of all children between the ages of nine and fifteen years, unless for good reasons excused. Our greatest difficulty is that many men, when elected to office, seek to become masters of the people instead of servants and protectors thereof. Instead of numberless laws to punish criminals and to provide for the support of paupers, let us have increased facilities for liberally educating the masses. Educating is the best preventive of pauperism and crime.
“Instead of numberless laws to punish criminals and to provide for the support of paupers, let us have increased facilities for liberally educating the masses.”
This 1876 plea for universal education highlights a foundational civic debate in the Washington Territory. While the debate has shifted from basic literacy to modern concerns about accessibility and funding, the author’s core argument—that civic health is tied to the quality of public schooling—remains a central pillar of Snohomish's identity today.
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