As I mentioned in my last diary entry, I've been busy lately campaigning for a local school bond issue. One of my self-appointed tasks has been to argue the case for school construction, whenever it comes up on local websites.
Of all the arguments raised against modernizing our schools, my favorite is the ever popular "dirt floors were good enough for Abraham Lincoln."
Did you just spit coffee through your nose?
Believe it or not, this comes up fairly often. In an effort to grapple seriously with this statement, I thought I'd share a few facts about life in America, in the days of Lincoln's childhood.
- When Lincoln was born in 1809, the average lifespan for a white male in the United States was about 45 years.
- In 1850, (the first year for which this number is available) the infant mortality rate for white babies was about 217 for every 1000 live births. For black families rates were even higher, with nearly a third of all infants dying within their first few years of life.
- When Lincoln was born in 1809, he was lucky to survive his first few years in a low-roofed home with a dirt floor. At that time, diseases like diarrhea caused by intestinal parasites claimed the lives of nearly a third of all children, largely because they were raised in unsanitary environments. Not only was he lucky to live, he was lucky to preserve his intellectual capacity, as the resulting nutritional deficiencies are known to slow cognitive development.
- When Lincoln went to school in Indiana in the early 19th century, the literacy rate was as low as 16% in some counties. In counties where literacy rates were higher, religious organizations offered tuition-based schools and established charitable funds for poor families. Lincoln himself received only about 1 year of formal education.
- When Lincoln went to school, there were no standardized tests, no computers, no advanced math classes (at least, not on the prairie) and very few opportunities for higher education. There were only a few formal law schools. Lincoln himself was a self-taught lawyer.
- When Abraham Lincoln went to school, he dreamed of a better life for later generations. In his first political speech in 1832, he spoke of this dream:
For my part, I desire to see the time when education, and by its means, morality, sobriety, enterprise and industry, shall become much more general than at present, and should be gratified to have it in my power to contribute something to the advancement of any measure which might have a tendency to accelerate the happy period.
- When Lincoln went to school, dirt floors and poverty weren't good enough for him. Against nearly insurmountable odds, he survived, continued his education, and devoted his life to the betterment of his country and later generations. By the time of his death in 1865, a quiet revolution had taken place in states across America. By 1870, all states had some provision for free elementary education.