National Bureau of Education

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The National Bureau of Education was a small unit in the General Government of the United States. It was created on March 2, 1867, as the Department of Education, using the same titles as another unit which it superseded. Henry Barnard was appointed as the first Commissioner of Education in 1867. During his three years of service, the name of the unit was changed to the Bureau of Education. He was replaced by John Eaton in 1870. By 1875, its official name had been changed to Office of Education but, nevertheless, many people continued to refer to it as the Bureau of Education.

The name was changed back to Bureau of Education, but it reverted to Office of education in 1929.^[1]

1 Purpose
2 Foundation
3 Agricultural colleges
4 One nation
5 Overview
6 Repeal of the law
7 Successors
8 References
9 External links
10 Sources

[edit] Purpose

The National Bureau of Education was created due to the development of a need to gather statistical information on the budding educational institutions of the United States. The Commissioner of Education was required to prepare a Report annually, which was printed and given to members of Congress and other persons. In 1875, 20,000 copies of the Report for 1874 were printed; 5,000 copies for the use of members of the Senate, 10,000 copies for the use of members of the House of Representatives, and 5,000 copies for the use of the Commissioner of Education.

[edit] Foundation

The collecting of statistical information by national governments existed in Europe prior to the creation of the United States and the General Government of the United States. The collecting of statistical information related to Commerce was a forerunner of sorts and an important activity in the United States prior to 1850.

[edit] Agricultural colleges

In 1857, Congressman Morrill introduced a bill for the establishment, through the aid of public land grants, of State colleges throughout the country primarily for the teaching of agriculture and the mechanical arts. On Monday, February 1, 1858, a petition of the Ohio State Board of Agriculture was presented to the Senate "praying that a donation of land be made to each of the States for the establishment of agricultural colleges." Neither of the proposals was accepted until the time of the Lincoln administration (1861-65), after which it became necessary to gather information on the many schools already in existence, as well as on those being built.

[edit] One nation

The National Bureau of Education had a unifying influence on the different educational institutions of the United States, caused by supplying the leaders of the institutions with information that enabled them to know of the practices of the various institutions.

[edit] Overview

The National Bureau of Education was a unit of the Department of the Interior, therefore it was under the aegis of the Secretary of the Interior. It had no power to control the actions of educational institutions. At various times during its first decades of existence, attempts were made to change its name. These names (Board, Department, Office, and Bureau) were considered. In 1873, a bill (H. R. 3782) was introduced which would change its name to the Bureau of Education and Statistics.

The National Bureau of Education continued to exist until the twentieth century. It gathered information on diverse educational facilities such as those built to bring an education to American Indians as well as all of the facilities in all of the other places.